The Sydney Baha’i Temple has long been one of seven continental Baha’i Houses of Worship in the world, but soon there will be eight.
Construction of a spectacular new Temple in Santiago, Chile is well under way at a site that affords spectacular views of the city below and of the Andes behind.
As with Baha’i Temples elsewhere, it will be open to all for prayer and meditation and for services where sacred writings from the religions of the world will be recited, chanted, or sung.
Baha’i Houses of Worship, with their nine sides and dome, are symbols of unity in line with the Baha’i beliefs in the oneness of God, in the common foundation of the world religions and in the oneness of humanity.
They combine two essential and inseparable aspects of Baha’i life: worship and service. In due course, Baha’i Temples will be centres around which organisations and institutions for social, humanitarian and educational services will be established for the neighbouring population.
The innovative design of the House of Worship in Chile involves an arrangement of nine translucent wings, rising directly from the ground, and giving the impression of floating over a large reflecting water pool.
Sunlight will filter through the wings during the day, and at night the Temple will glow from its internal lighting.
The wings will be structured with steel, and clad on the outside with cast glass and on the inside with translucent marble. A mezzanine built of wood and a stone floor are some distinctive features of the interior.
The building will soar to 30 metres over its 1,200 square metres interior, which will seat 600 people.
The architect is Siamak Hariri of the Canadian architectural office Hariri Pontarini Architects. The landscape, designed by Chilean Juan Grimm, will incorporate lawns, shrubs and flowers, paths, steps and plazas and will feature native species. It will also provide a habitat for indigenous fauna. The cost of construction is being met solely by voluntary contributions from the Baha’is throughout the world. Completion date is likely to be 2016.
Baha’i Temples can now be found in Australia, Germany, India, Panama, Uganda, United States, and Western Samoa. The House of Worship in the United States was the first of these to be dedicated, in 1953. The most recently completed was the Indian Temple, in 1986. The Sydney Temple was dedicated and opened on 17 September 1961.
For more news on the House of Worship in Chile see here.
Web: Website of Temple in Chile, Webpage of Temple in Sydney