Located in kalkaji in the south of delhi
It is made of marble, cement, dolomite and sand. It is open to all faiths and is an ideal place for meditation and obtaining peace and tranquility.
It is a very recent architectural marvel of Bahai faith. The bahai faith is the youngest of the world’s independent religions. Its founder baha’u’llah(1817-1892) is regarded by Baha is as the most recent in the line of messengers of god that stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Abrahum , Moses, Buddha, Zoroster, Christ and Muhammad. The cental theme of Baha’u’llah’s is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one global society. God , Baha’u’llah said, has set in motion historical forces that breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of unification.
The Grand Structure
Fariborz Sahaba, Canadian architect of Iranian origin, spent 10 years in designing and project management, and with the help of a team of about 800 enginners, technicians, artisans and workers brought to realization one of the most complicated constructions in the world. The structure of the house is composed of three ranks of nine petals; each springing from a podium elevating the building above the surrounding plain. The first two ranks curve inward, embracing the inner dome; the third layer curves outward to form canopies over the nine entrances. The petals, constructed of reinforced white conrete cast in place, are clad in white marble panels, performed to surface profiles and patterns related to the geometry. Nine arches that provide the main support for the superstructure ring the central hall. Nine reflecting pools surround the building on the outside, their form suggesting the green leaves of the lotus flower. Translating the geometry of the design, in which there are virtually no straight lines, into the actual structure presented particular challenges in designing and erecting the framework. Not only was it difficult to align, so as to produce accurately the complex double-curved surfaces and their intersections, but also the closeness of the petals severely restricted workspace. Nevertheless the task was carried out entirely by the local laborers. Thanks to each one who contributed in its construction. To avoid construction joints, petals were concreted in a countinous operation for approximately 48 hours. Concrete was carried up the staging by women bearing 50-pound loads in basket balanced on their heads.
Articles
As of 2003 it had been featured in television programmes in India Russia China Temple
§ In France, the magazine "Actualite des Religions" published a four-page article on the Lotus Temple in the fall of 2000 in a special edition called "Les religions et leurs chef-d'œuvres" (Religions and Their Masterpieces)
Tourism
Since its inauguration to public worship in December 1986, the Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi has, as of late 2002, attracted more than 50 million visitors, making it one of the most visited buildings in the world.[10] Its numbers of visitors during those years surpassed those of theEiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal. On Hindu holy days, it has drawn as many as 150,000 people; it welcomes four million visitors each year (about 13,000 every day or 9 every minute).
This House of Worship is generally referred to as the "Lotus Temple
