The Baha'i Temple or Mashriqu'l-Adhkár:

[arthra]

Every religion generally has developed over tme it's own style of architecture for it's Houses of Worship. The Baha'i Faith is no different in this regard from earlier dispensations. In the Baha'i Faith a House of Worship is called a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár or " Dawning Place of the Mention of God"... It is planned that some day every large Baha'i community will have it's own "Mashriqu'l-Adhkár" where prayers will begin in the morning at dawn and people can come during the day to say prayers and worship God.

Baha'i Temples characteristically have nine entrances and there are no altars or raised podiums for sermons as in Mosques and Churches... People of all religions are free to enter the House of Worship and say their persoanl prayers there. Worship services can use any of the revealed scriptures....

An example of the most recent House of Worship to be constructed in Santiago, Chile is given below:

http://temple.cl.bahai.org/

So far there are only a handfull of these Houses of Worship built throughout the world, notably in New Delhi; Stuttgart; Kampala Uganda; Somoa; Wilmette USA; Panama; Sydney, Australia....

The first House of Worship was built in Ishqabad, Tashkent and was later seized by the Soviet Union under Stalin, soon after this it was destroyed in an earthquake...

- Art

[arthra]

"Around the world, more than 120 sites have so far been set aside for future Houses of Worship. Ultimately, every local Bahá'í community will have its own House of Worship. Like the first one in Ashkhabad, each will become the focus of community life, as well as a center for social, scientific, educational, and humanitarian services."

Source:

http://bahai.org/article-1-6-0-7.html

Around every Mashriqu'l-Adhkár or House of Worship ideally there will be a University, a Hospital, a Hospice so that the community will have education, social services and such revolving around the House of Worship as the center.

So in the future the Baha'i communities will be designed with this in mind...



- Art

[arthra]

There are lesser known Baha'i Houses of Worship in such places as Panama and Somoa.

For a visual tour of all seven Houses of Worship around the world see the following:

http://www.bahaitemple.org/low/world.htm

This site gives the height of the structure..the geographical location as well as when they were completed.

- Art

[I, Brian]

I have to say, it does look a fascinating building.

Will it teach entirely from a Baha'i persepctive, though, or will it teach secular subjects from a position of neutrality?

[arthra]

There are already Baha'i educational institutions in India and other countries and they are open to anyone and teach a curicula that is pretty much secular...

You will see however, a greater stress on the recognition of equality of mankind (equality of men and women, and oneness of humanity) and the abolition of prejudice (class, religious, etc).

So while Baha'i religion per se would not be stressed...The Baha'i social principles would be.

Some examples:

http://www.onecountry.org/oc93/oc9312as.html

http://www.onecountry.org/e144/e1441...rant_story.htm

http://www.onecountry.org/e132/e1321..._for_Peace.htm

- Art

[I, Brian]

Thanks for that - looks interesting - I'll try and read all of the articles later.

[barefootgal9]

Absolute WOW.

Thanks for that link Arthra!

bfg

[arthra]

Thanks Barefootgal!

Under this topic I found an interesting article by a Japanese Baha'i architect Yuichi Hirano who is working on a design for the House of Worship in Japan!

Each Baha'i House of Worship also reflects the culture on the country it is built it and this article reflects that principle.

Here's some excerpts from the artricle:

"The challenge in creating the design was finding a way to express Japanese spiritual and artistic traditions within the framework of the basic structure usual for Bahá'í Houses of Worship. ...As a result, I chose two images: the curved line and the folded- plane surface. The former, a slightly curved line, is represented by the silhouette of Mount Fuji and can be found in the stone walls surrounding Japanese castles, the curve of a Japanese sword blade, the slope of shrine and temple roofs, and the outline of the torii (shrine gate). The folded-plane surface is a technique used in Japanese kimono, origami (paper folding), fans, screens, and so on, whereby a complex three-dimensional shape is composed by folding and layering a plane surface..."

Source:

http://bahai-library.com/bafa/hirano.htm


- Art

[ISFP]

hey all-

one thing i find so neat about Mashriqu'l-Adhkár is that they're supposed to be built in a style most familiar to the region. there's no didactic reinforcement of one architecture style (or culture) being spiritually superior to another. i'm looking forward to seeing the Japanese Mashriqu'l-Adhkár completed!

[arthra]

Originally Posted by ISFP

hey all-

one thing i find so neat about Mashriqu'l-Adhkár is that they're supposed to be built in a style most familiar to the region. there's no didactic reinforcement of one architecture style (or culture) being spiritually superior to another. i'm looking forward to seeing the Japanese Mashriqu'l-Adhkár completed!

Thanks for your comments ISFP! How do you know about the Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs if i may ask?

- Art

[ISFP]

arthra-

there are a couple of Bahais who live down the floor fom me, and they're very open and enthusiatic about their faith. they give mini-discussions of aspects of Bahai belief and history every week, and there are a few of us who go regularly. for the information and the free cookies, doubtless.

[arthra]

"The construction of a new Bahá’í House of Worship in Santiago, Chile – scheduled to open in 2007 – has been attracting worldwide attention in the architectural press. Some 15 major journals – including The Architectural Review and Wallpaper - have so far featured the stunning design that will complete a century -long project of establishing a Bahá’í temple in every continent of the world.

"Toronto-based architects Hariri Pontarini won the 185-entry design competition, based on a brief that the building should express in material form the essential teachings of the Bahá’í faith. Bahá’í Houses of Worship are dedicated to the belief in one God, and are open to people of all faiths, races and cultural backgrounds. Each House of Worship is a domed structure with nine equal entrances, designed to welcome worshippers from all directions. As there is no clergy in the Bahá’í faith, services within the House of Worship have neither ritualistic elements nor sermons. Programmes consist of the reading of prayers and scriptures from all of the world’s great religions, as well as choral settings of holy texts. The buildings are also devoid of pictures or statues. In time, each House of Worship will have surrounding buildings dedicated to the service of humanity, education and healthcare.

"The process of building Bahá’í temples began in 1902 when construction commenced on the first temple in Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan. The building was seized by Soviet authorities in 1928 and converted into a museum before being damaged by an earthquake and then demolished in 1963. Continental Bahá’í Houses of Worship have been built near Chicago, USA; in Sydney, Australia; Kampala, Uganda; near Frankfurt, Germany; Apia, Western Samoa; and Panama. The most recent – the exquisite Lotus temple in New Delhi – has become one of the world’s most visited tourist destinations, attracting millions of visitors every year.

"The new temple in Santiago has been designed to act as a symbolic lantern. It consists of a 30-metre high and wide central auditorium, which will seat around 600 worshippers. It also features nine luminous chapels and a gallery. The most distinguishing features of the building are the nine, large, curving leaves made of translucent white alabaster that glow at night and focus natural light in the daytime. Because Santiago is an earthquake zone, the whole structure has been designed to accommodate ground movement. Around the temple will be nine quiet prayer gardens and a lily pool in which the great white leaves will be reflected."

Source:

http://www.planetbahai.org/resources...ws012005a.html

[Bandit]

That very first one in the thread in Chile is an awesome temple! I would love to see the people gather and worship and fill the place lift up praises to God in heavenly places. I could climb it and look down through the hole on top as they worship together.
They did a real nice job with the video. I enjoyed it

The buildings have the same type of style it seems. At the top of them, is there an actual space in the roof that allows heat to escape? And is the entire structure enclosed on the sides? I ask because in the video it appears wind can come through as well as the light.

[arthra]

Originally Posted by Bandit

That very first one in the thread in Chile is an awesome temple! I would love to see the people gather and worship and fill the place lift up praises to God in heavenly places. I could climb it and look down through the hole on top as they worship together.
They did a real nice job with the video. I enjoyed it

The buildings have the same type of style it seems. At the top of them, is there an actual space in the roof that allows heat to escape? And is the entire structure enclosed on the sides? I ask because in the video it appears wind can come through as well as the light.

It's true that worshippers of all religions can have access to the Houses of Worship.

In warmer climates such as in Central America, the Panama House of Worship is open allowing the air to flow through... The topmost space inside the dome is usually reserved for the Greatest Name of God and so this shines over everything in the Temple.

I very happy you enjoyed the virtual tour of the Chilean Temple and i have to confess i'm not aware of some of the details as yet.

- Art

[Bandit]

This is one looking up in Chicago I just found.
I am wondering what does it say the greatest name of God is?