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BUILDING
 
 
Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de Sudamérica
Bahá’í House of Worship of South America
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DESIGNER
 
 
Hariri Pontarini Architects
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CONTEXT
 
Panorama
Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de Sudamérica
Landscape
Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de Sudamérica
Overview
Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de Sudamérica
Masterplan
Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de Sudamérica
Relationship with the location
Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de Sudamérica
Importance of the building in the territory and in the city
Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de Sudamérica
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DESCRIPTION
 
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Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de SudaméricaAt the heart of this building there is a belief and an aspiration: that even now, in the fractured 21st-century, we can respond to a human yearning to come together, to connect to one another, and to something that moves the spirit. The Temple sits on the edge of Santiago and nestles against the spine of the Andes mountains. It was commissioned by the Bahá‘í House of Justice and is the eighth and final continental temple for the Bahá‘í Faith. But, central to its brief and its design is that it be a place of welcome, community and meaning for everyone.

Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de SudaméricaThe Temple is a human place, universally appealing in its form and at one with its landscape. Distilled to its very essence, the Temple is a building that seeks to come alive with light – embodied light. Composed of nine identical, gracefully torqued wings bound to the oculus at the top, creating a weightless movement around a grounded centre, the Temple is light but also rooted and has a sense of permanence. A circular structure with nine sides, nine entrances open, figuratively and symbolically, to everyone.

In contrast to the Temple’s subtlety on the landscape, once inside the building soars along with the spirit of those who enter. The voluminous interior is alive with soft light that filters through the cast glass exterior and translucent marble interior of the wings, bathing visitors in warmth.
The arched lines of the supple wooden benches invite people to come together, not for a congregation, but to congregate; to sit next to one another in quiet contemplation, sharing in the communal act of being. The alcoved mezzanine above allows those seeking solitude to tuck into themselves while not losing connectedness with the community below.

Given the intimacy and delicacy of the Temple, it is easy to overlook the inherent toughness of the structure and engineering required for the building to weather the rugged climate in this earthquake-prone region for 400 years to come. The process of achieving this was quite extraordinary, involving the hands of many; artisans, engineers and craftsmen from Canada, the United States, Europe and Chile, and a team of countless global volunteers. The process, like the building itself, drawing people together in pursuit of a common goal.

Expressing an unwavering belief in inclusion, the Temple has become the embodiment of a human aspiration for commonality within diversity. Since opening in the fall of 2016, the Temple has quickly developed into a major attractor in South America, welcoming over 1.4 million visitors, and sees up to 36,000 people on busy weekends. Amongst these, many Mapuche, the indigenous peoples of Chile, who made the trek to the Temple their first journey away from their village. It holds an important place within the Chilean social landscape, hosting community clubs, youth outreach programs and children’s activities in partnership with the public schools. The Temple is a timeless place where people feel at home, able to hold their beliefs amongst others.
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Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de Sudamérica
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VIDEO
 
 
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MATERIALS
 
glass, marble, steel, reinforced concrete

Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de SudaméricaThe temple’s nine gracefully torqued wings, bound to an oculus at the top, are made of an outer layer of cast-glass panels and an interior layer of translucent marble from Portugal.
Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de SudaméricaThe invention of this new material – cast-glass cladding – took four years of experimentation and collaboration with a Canadian glass artisan.

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LOCATION
 
Continent
South America
Nation
Chile
Region
Metropolitana de Santiago
Province
Santiago
Town
Peñalolén
Address
Diagonal Las Torres 2000
 
 
Telephone
+56.2.32209940
Website
E-mail
informacion@templobahai.cl
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MAP
 
 
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TYPOLOGY
 
ARCHITECTURE
Religious buildings
Churches and places of worship
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CHRONOLOGY
 
Project
2003 - 2010    
Realisation
2011 - 2016
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AWARDS
 
2019
Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de SudaméricaRAIC International Prize
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada

Jury Report:

The architects resolve a challenging and prescriptive program for a new Baha’i Temple near Santiago with a powerful form that creates a new landmark - a jewel - in a dramatic natural setting. One juror compared the sight of the temple in the distance to a visitor’s first glimpse of Ronchamp, creating a sense of procession and heightened anticipation in the experience of approach and arrival.

Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de SudaméricaThe sense of ‘the hand’ is evident in the craft and detailing. The materials and subtle modulation of the building’s surfaces make important and unexpected references to the topography and geology of the surrounding landscape. During the day, the striking form is animated by the variations of light and shade on the building’s softly turning surfaces. At night, it stands like a lantern, softly lit from within.

The combination of the translucent cast glass and marble of the skin with the clear openings that separate the nine ‘petals’ enables a play of light and shade in the interior space that is constantly changing. The triangulated geometry of the skin is revealed both behind the folded marble lining and in the light reflected on its surface.

The result is timeless and inspiring, a building that uses a language of space and light, form and materials, to express an interpretation of Baha’i philosophy and teaching that becomes universally accessible as a shared spiritual and emotional experience.
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BIBILIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
 
 
"Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Awards of Excellence", Canadian Architect 5/2017 [RAIC Awards of Excellence], may 2017, pp. 34-68
"Bahá’í Temple of South America", Canadian Architect 5/2017 [RAIC Awards of Excellence], may 2017, pp. 54-55 (34-68)
Hariri Pontarini, Baha’i Temple, Chile, Canadian ArchitectFrancisco Diaz, "In the heights", Canadian Architect 1/2017 [Spiritual Spaces], january 2017, pp. 12-19, cover
"Sacred places", Architectural Record 5/2016, may 2016, pp. 167-186
Deborah Snoonian Glenn, "Bahá’í Temple of South America, Santiago, Chile", Architectural Record 5/2016, may 2016, pp. 184-186 (167-186)
Corinne Belier, Barry Bergdoll, Marc Le Coeur, "Structured to capture light", A+U. Architecture and Urbanisme 514, july 2013, pp. 5-135
"Bahá’í Temple of South America, Santiago, Chile", A+U. Architecture and Urbanisme 514, july 2013, pp. 52-61 (5-135)
"Bahá’í Temple, Santiago, Chile", Canadian Architect 6/2007, june 2007, pp. 29-30
"Citations: Bahá’í Mother Temple for South America, Santiago, Chile", Architect 1/2007 [54th annual PA awards], january 2007, pp. 76-77
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PHOTO+
 
 
Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de Sudamérica



Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de Sudamérica
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CLIENT
 
 
Asamblea Espiritual Nacional de los Bahá’ís de Chile
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AMOUNT
 
 
$ 30,000,000
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DIMENSIONAL
DATA
 
Surface
sq.m. 2,438
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STRUCTURES
 
 
Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Halcrow Yolles
EXP
Patricio Bertholet M.
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LANDSCAPE DESIGN
 
 
Juan Grimm
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STAFF
 
Project
Hariri Pontarini Architects
Project leader
Siamak Hariri
Project management
Doron Meinhard
Design team
Justin Huang Ford, Michael Boxer, George Simionopoulos, Tiago Masrour Tahirih Viveros, Jin-Yi McMillen, Jaegap Chung, Adriana Balen, Mehrdad Tavakkolian, Donald Peters, Jimmy Farrington, John Cook
Architect of record
Benkal y Larrain Arquitectos
Construction management
Desarrollo y Construccion del Templo Bahá’í De Sudamerica
Structural consultant
Gartner Steel and Glass GmbH [Superstructure and Cladding]
Cladding
Jeff Goodman Studio
CGD Glass
Mechanical engineer
MMM Group
Hydraulic engineer
Videla & Asociados
HVAC consultant
The OPS Group
Electrical engineer
MMM Group
Lighting engineer
Limari Lighting Design Ltda.
Isometrix
Acoustical consultant
Verónica Wulf
Graphics and signage
Entro Communications
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CREDITS
 
 
Photos © Hariri Pontarini Architects, doublespace photography, Robert Weinberg, Benjamín Gremler, Jorge Fernández Salas, Osvaldo Castillo
Drawings © Hariri Pontarini Architects
Video © Hariri Pontarini Architects
Text edited by Hariri Pontarini Architects | v2com newswire
Courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects | v2com newswire

Temple Bahá’í of South America, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Siamak Hariri, Santiago de Chile, Peñalolén, Juan Grimm, Casa de Adoración Bahá’í de Sudamérica



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