Temple Santiago Bahá'i Hariri Pontarini Architects, Chili
Temple Santiago Bahá’i
Hariri Pontarini Architects The Bahá’ís – Temple Santiago, Chili
A translucent marble shell front of Santiago del Chile is the new Bahá'í Temple of South America, designed by Canadian studio Hariri Pontarini Architects. Surrounded by reflective pools and a landscape of native grasses, the temple is a dome-shaped structure and light that echoes the rolling topography of the Andes while appearing to 30 meters above the ground. Baha'is believe in the critical role of volunteerism to increase their prayer and reflection. His nine monumental glass mats form an open and accessible space of worship, where up 600 visitors can be accommodated on seats curved walnut and leather. Looking at the central oculus at the top of the dome, visitors can experience a light transfer from outside the cast glass to an inner translucent Portuguese marble. At sunset, the light captured in the dome from white and silver with ocher and purple. The Bahá'í temples are designed to reflect the ideal of universal cult where women, men and children can come together as equals.
Siamak Hariri: how do you build a sacred space?
Video courtesy of TED
L’interview : d’ Haiiri Pontarini
In response, Hariri Pontarini architects used different qualities of light to guide the design process. "The inspiration was drawn from a myriad of sources", say architects. "The magic of stained sun under a canopy of trees, interwoven strands of Japanese bamboo baskets and fragmentation of broken glass ". The scheme has been widely developed through sketches in hand, physical models and digital technologies. Siamak Hariri , founding partner of architects Hariri Pontarini, explains the design process in more detail in the new video TED.
The first marble covering panel was installed on site in Santiago
A BAHA’I TEMPLE MADE FROM TRANSLUCENT MATERIALS
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