AKDN parks and gardens | Aga Khan Development Network

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The rehabilitated Chihilsitoon Garden, a 12.5-hectare public site in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Garden rehabilitation was completed in September 2018.

AKDN / Simon Norfolk
Since its restoration by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), the Bagh-e-Babur (Babur’s Gardens) has attracted over 400,000 visitors annually.

AKDN / Christian Richters
The Bagh-e Babur (Babur’s Gardens), Kabul, Afghanistan. Now managed by an independent Trust, the restored 11-hectare garden not only re-establishes the historic character of the site with its water channels, planted terraces and pavilions, but also provides the population of Kabul with a space for recreation and cultural events.

AKDN / Simon Norfolk
The Aga Khan Museum and Park, Toronto, Canada. Lebanon-based landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic designed the formal gardens of the Aga Khan Park.

AKDN / Janet Kimber
The Aga Khan Park, Toronto, Canada - Based on a traditional Persian and Mughal chahar bagh (four-part garden), the gardens are given a natural geometry through ordered plantings of serviceberry trees.

AKDN / Janet Kimber
The 4.8 hectare Mughal-inspired Aga Khan Garden in Edmonton, Alberta, which was made possible by a CAD 25-million gift from His Highness the Aga Khan, is a modern interpretation of historic Islamic landscape architecture designed for the Edmonton region’s climate and topography.

Paul Swanson / Courtesy of University of Alberta Botanic Garden
The addition of the Aga Khan Garden in Edmondon, Canada, is expected to more than double the number of annual visitors (from 75,000 to 160,000) to the University of Alberta Botanic Garden, benefiting the economy of the entire region.

Courtesy of Nelson Byrd Woltz, 2018
Al-Azhar Park, Cairo, Egypt. With nearly two million visitors a year, the US$ 30 million Azhar Park - a gift from His Highness the Aga Khan to the city of Cairo - not only generates enough funds for its own maintenance (through gate and restaurant receipts), but has proven to be a powerful catalyst for urban renewal in the neighbouring district of Darb al-Ahmar.

AKDN / Christian Richters
Al-Azhar Park, Cairo, Egypt. The project included the excavation and extensive restoration of the 12th Century Ayyubid wall and the rehabilitation of important monuments and landmark buildings in the Historic City.

AKDN / Christian Richters
Cultural activities in India are undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). The largest cultural project to date has been the restoration and revitalisation of the Garden's of Humayun's Tomb, which has since expanded to the neighbouring Nizamuddin area, to Sundar Nursery and the restoration of a number of monuments in the historic district.

AKDN
Sunder Nursery, New Delhi, India. Aligned with the large entrance plaza of Humayun’s tomb, Sunder Nursery features a spectacular pedestrian Central Axis conceived in three parts, as a progression of formally arranged gardens around the heritage structures and merging at its end with the proposed arboretum and water gardens.

AKTC
The National Park of Mali in Bamako was developed under a public-private partnership between the Government of Mali and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).

AKDN / Gary Otte
National Park of Mali, Bamako, Mali. The project brief called for the unification of the sites of the National Museum and the existing Botanical Garden and Zoo into a single cultural/ecological park of significant value, with natural and cultural attractions.

AKDN / Christian Richters
The pool at Khorog City Park, Tajikistan. The design inspiration for the Park came as a direct response to the dramatic climate and landscape of the region and the common need for a public garden for both refuge and recreation.

AKDN / Christopher Wilton-Steer
Khorog Park, with its café, teahouse, open-air theatre and pond provides an enhanced park facility for the entire city.

AKDN / Christian Richters

AKDN parks and gardens

The creation of parks and gardens has been an important part of AKDN's work, with the objective of using green spaces to catalyse positive economic, social and cultural change as well as expressing ethical notions of stewardship, ecology, and the presence of beauty in the built environment.

Gardens bring people of different backgrounds together to enjoy and appreciate nature. They also seek to improve people’s quality of life by providing spaces for reflection, spirituality, education and leisure.

The rehabilitated Chihilsitoon Garden, a 12.5-hectare public site in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Garden rehabilitation was completed in September 2018.

AKDN / Simon Norfolk

Since its restoration by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), the Bagh-e-Babur (Babur’s Gardens) has attracted over 400,000 visitors annually.

AKDN / Christian Richters

AKDN / Simon Norfolk

The Aga Khan Museum and Park, Toronto, Canada. Lebanon-based landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic designed the formal gardens of the Aga Khan Park.

AKDN / Janet Kimber

The Aga Khan Park, Toronto, Canada - Based on a traditional Persian and Mughal chahar bagh (four-part garden), the gardens are given a natural geometry through ordered plantings of serviceberry trees.

AKDN / Janet Kimber

The 4.8 hectare Mughal-inspired Aga Khan Garden in Edmonton, Alberta, which was made possible by a CAD 25-million gift from His Highness the Aga Khan, is a modern interpretation of historic Islamic landscape architecture designed for the Edmonton region’s climate and topography.

Paul Swanson / Courtesy of University of Alberta Botanic Garden

The addition of the Aga Khan Garden in Edmondon, Canada, is expected to more than double the number of annual visitors (from 75,000 to 160,000) to the University of Alberta Botanic Garden, benefiting the economy of the entire region.

Courtesy of Nelson Byrd Woltz, 2018

AKDN / Christian Richters

Al-Azhar Park, Cairo, Egypt. The project included the excavation and extensive restoration of the 12th Century Ayyubid wall and the rehabilitation of important monuments and landmark buildings in the Historic City.

AKDN / Christian Richters

AKDN

AKTC

The National Park of Mali in Bamako was developed under a public-private partnership between the Government of Mali and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).

AKDN / Gary Otte

National Park of Mali, Bamako, Mali. The project brief called for the unification of the sites of the National Museum and the existing Botanical Garden and Zoo into a single cultural/ecological park of significant value, with natural and cultural attractions.

AKDN / Christian Richters

The pool at Khorog City Park, Tajikistan. The design inspiration for the Park came as a direct response to the dramatic climate and landscape of the region and the common need for a public garden for both refuge and recreation.

AKDN / Christopher Wilton-Steer

Khorog Park, with its café, teahouse, open-air theatre and pond provides an enhanced park facility for the entire city.

AKDN / Christian Richters

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