The Lotus Temple is a Baha’i house of worship located in the capital city of India, New Delhi. It is also the last of the seven Baha’i temples in the world. It is considered the Baha’i center of the Asian continent and has won numerous architectural awards. The temple was opened to the public in December 1986 and is visited by an average of 8,000 to 10,000 people per day. For this reason, it is among the most visited buildings in the world. A CNN report named it the most visited building in the world in 2001. The Lotus Temple has won numerous architectural awards and has been featured in many newspaper and magazine articles.
Lotus Temple also stands out with its environmentalist approach. As the first temple to use solar energy in New Delhi, it generates 120 kilowatts of electricity use, out of a total of 500 kilowatts, with solar power. The temple is surrounded by regular gardens and is located in the middle of nine pools. Thanks to this location, it creates the feeling of a giant lotus flower floating in the water, and the entrances are made by bridges over these pools. The Lotus Temple, with a base width of 34 meters and a height of 70 meters, has a total area of 105 thousand square meters.
Baha’ism is a monotheistic religion and focuses on the spiritual unity of humanity. Baha’i law emphasizes that houses of worship should be a place where people of all religions can worship without sectarian restrictions. Therefore, like the Lotus Temple, Bahá’í houses of worship are open to all, regardless of religion or distinction. The interior of the Lotus Temple is a very quiet and peaceful environment. It is completely forbidden to talk or even whisper inside the building. This allows worshipers to pray and meditate in a more relaxed and quiet environment.
Architectural Features of the Lotus Temple
The Lotus Temple was designed by Fariborz Sahba, an Iranian architect. Lotus flower was used as a source of inspiration. According to Hindu tradition, the lotus flower symbolizes purity, freshness and simplicity. The form of the temple is also in the form of a lotus flower that is about to open.
The Lotus Temple is one of the best examples of modernism and shares architectural features with other Baha’i houses of worship. These houses of worship have three important common features; A nine-sided circular shape, a dome, and nine doors representing the nine religions found in the world according to Baha’i beliefs. The Lotus Temple also has these features. It has nine entrance gates and the shape of the temple is in the form of a lotus flower made of 27 marble leaves. The nine leaves that make up the gates delimit each entrance on the nine sides of the temple.
The exterior of the Lotus Temple is covered with white marble brought from Mount Penteli in Greece. This is the type of marble that is also used in the construction of other Baha’i houses of worship. The white marble not only makes the temple visible from afar, but also gives it a purple and misty look at sunsets.
The interior of the Lotus Temple is supported by nine arcs set at 40 degree angles. Springs are in shapes consisting of flat, conical and cylindrical surfaces. The intersection of the surfaces creates interesting contours and reveals the beauty of the arches. The building structure of the temple consists of nine doors opening to a central hall with a capacity of 2,500 people and 27 independent marble-covered “petals” arranged in triple clusters to form nine sides. This structure is just over 34 meters high.
Awards Received by the Lotus Temple
In 1987, the architect of the Lotus Temple, Fariborz Sahba, was awarded the “excellence in religious art and architecture” award by the UK-based Institute of Structural Engineers.
In 1987, the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art, and Architecture, of the American Institute of Architects, Washington, DC awarded Fariborz Sahba its First Honor Award for “Excellence in Religious Art and Architecture.”
In 1988, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America awarded the Paul Waterbury Outdoor Lighting Design Award for “Special Cited Temple for Outdoor Lighting”.
In 1989, he received an award for “excellence in a concrete construction” from the Maharashtra-India Division of the American Concrete Institute. The 1994 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica described the Temple as an outstanding achievement of its time in its “Architecture” section.
In 2000, the Chinese Architectural Society listed it as one of the 100 canonical works of the 20th century in the book “World Architecture 1900-2000: A Critical Mosaic, Volume Eight, South Asia”.
In 2000, the GlobArt Academy in Vienna, Austria, named Fariborz Sahba, the architect of the Lotus Temple, “20. He gave the GlobArt Academy award for his great service in promoting the Taj Mahal of the 20th century.
