Manifesting Light: Designing the Aga Khan Museum

Manifesting Light: Designing the Aga Khan Museum

From This Being Human by Aga Khan Museum & The Walrus Lab

April 28, 2026 · 32 min · Season 5 · Episode 1

About this episode

This episode explores the architectural design of the Aga Khan Museum, focusing on the concept of light and its influence on the building's structure and aesthetics.

Before the Aga Khan Museum became a landmark in Toronto, it started with a letter about light. In this episode of This Being Human , host Mai Habib sits down with principal architect Gary Kamemoto, who led the Museum’s design alongside the late Fumihiko Maki. He shares how that single idea—light—shaped everything, from the building’s geometry and materials to the way you move through the space. Along the way, you get a closer look at the thinking behind the Aga Khan Museum’s architecture, and how it draws on Islamic design and ideas of pluralism to create something that feels both timeless and distinctly contemporary. Gary also gets into the details you’d likely miss on a first visit: patterns that shift with the sun, geometry hiding in plain sight, and a subtle architectural tribute woven into the building itself—details that, once you know they’re there, change how you see it. *The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of  This Being Human .* Links & Resources: This was just one example of Muslim art that sparked curiosity and a great conversation. There is so much more to see at the Aga Khan Museum. Support the museum's vision to…

People in this episode

Host: Mai Habib

Guest: Gary Kamemoto

Topics covered

  • architecture
  • Islamic design
  • pluralism
  • light
  • Aga Khan Museum
  • Toronto

Keywords

  • Aga Khan Museum
  • Gary Kamemoto
  • architecture
  • Islamic design
  • light
  • Toronto
  • pluralism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Aga Khan Museum, Maki and Associates, AKDN

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