# Hossein Amanat

Hossein Amanat (Persian: حسین امانت, b. 1942) is an Iranian-Canadian architect. He is best known as the architect of the Shahyad Tower (renamed as Azadi Tower after the 1979 revolution) in Tehran, Iran, the Baháʼí Arc buildings in Haifa, Israel and the House of Worship in Samoa. He has also been designated as the architect of the Shrine of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá currently under construction.

## Practice

As a young graduate from the University of Tehran. He is one of the students of Hooshang seyhoon. He won a nationwide competition in 1966 to design the Shahyad Tower, renamed the Azadi Tower in 1979. This first architectural project led to the opportunity to create some of Iran's most distinctive projects with reference to traditional Persian architecture. Amongst them are the initial buildings of the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran., the Persian Heritage Center, the Faculty for Business Management of the Tehran University and the Embassy of Iran in Beijing, China. As a member of the persecuted Baháʼí Faith, Amanat fled the country during the 1979 Iranian Revolution. He is the brother of Abbas Amanat, Professor of History & International Studies at Yale University.
Since moving to Canada in 1980, Hossein Amanat designed the three administrative buildings on the Baháʼí Arc in Haifa, Israel, the Baháʼí House of Worship in Samoa, the Jiang'an Library for the Sichuan University, the media library for the Beijing Broadcasting Institute. He designed religious and cultural centers for the Baháʼí Faith near Dallas, Seattle and Washington, D.C., several multifamily condominiums in Santa Monica, and mixed-use high-rise buildings in San Diego and Burnaby.
On 7 May 2019 the Universal House of Justice announced Amanat as the architect of the future Shrine of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.

## List of projects

* Shahyad monument ( Azadi tower ) 1971
* Pasargad archeological museum 1973
* Sharif university ( Aryamehr university) 1975
* Faculty of business management university 1980
* Iranian embassy in Beijing 1983
* Seat of the Universal House of Justice 1983
* Samoa Bahá'í house of worship 1984
* Center for the study of the texts 2001
* International Teaching Center 2001÷
* International Archives extension 2001
* Bahá'í Faith world administrative center 2001
* Horizons tower 2001
* Plano Bahá'í community center 2004
* Sichuan university center library 2005
* Bellevue Bahá'í community center 2006
* Loudoun County, Virginia Baha`i community center 2007
* Legacy 2008
* Bayside 2009
* Amanat office 2009
* Beijing broadcasting institute library 2011
* National holocaust monument competition 2011
* zonda 2016
* Arris 2017
* Savina 2017
* One 88 2018
* 777 front 2019

## Awards

* 2024 Recipient of the Doctors of Letters Honorary Degree from The University of British Columbia
* 2001 American Concrete Institute Award
* 1995 Excellence in Building Design, Marble from Greece Competition
* 1985 Tucker Award for Architectural Excellence
* 1975 Royal Pahlavi Medal for Design
* 1971 Medal of Art - Iranian Ministry of Education
* Azadi Tower, Tehran, Iran
* Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts
* The Seat of the International Teaching Centre
* Jiang'an Library at the Sichuan University, China
* Horizon residential Towers, San Diego, California
* Bayside residential Tower, San Diego, California