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The national governing body of the Bahá'í community in
Chile has called for submission of designs for a
continental Bahá'í House of Worship, to be built
southeast of Santiago. The building will be the eighth
House of Worship in the world.
The call
comes after an announcement in 2001 by the Universal
House of Justice that efforts should begin to build what
would be known as the "Mother Temple of South
America". Submissions are open not only to Bahá'ís,
but to all qualified designers.
The
announcement letter, from the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Chile, specifies some of
the design requirements of the building. Like all of the
other Bahá'í Temples, must be nine-sided and it also
should have "an auditorium for worship seating five
to six hundred people" with a dome of a height of
"40 to 45 meters." Design submissions should
also include basic landscaping features. The surrounding
gardens are a key feature of the other Temples.
The design
of each of the existing Temples has been unique, and
most are reflective of the culture of the land in which
they have been built. The most recognizable of the Bahá'í
Houses of Worship throughout the world is the
"Lotus Temple" in New Delhi, which has won
many architectural awards for its design, modelled after
a lotus flower.
Funding for
the construction will be provided by the Bahá'ís in
Chile and voluntary donations from local and national
Bahá'í communities around the world. Though Bahá'í
Houses of Worship are open to all, the teachings of the
Bahá'í Faith prohibit acceptance of funds from
non-members.
There are
currently seven Temples: in the United States, Uganda,
Australia, Germany, Panama, Western Samoa, and India.
The House of Worship in the United States, located in
Wilmette, Illinois, was the first one of these to be
dedicated, in 1953. The most recently completed was the
Indian Temple, in 1986.
The Temples
themselves are meant to be not only beautiful structures
but also places to commune with God in silence and
reverence. Their Arabic name, Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, means
"dawning place of the mention of God."
In the
future, each Bahá'í House of Worship will be the
central feature in a complex designed to provide a
variety of community services, such as health care and
education, open to use by followers of any religion.
At the
present time, many have also become attractive
destinations for tourists. The Temple in New Delhi
receives approximately 12,000 visitors per day.
The letter
announcing the call is available in both English and
Spanish on the Web site of the Bahá'ís of Chile,
www.bahai.cl. Designs are to be sent to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Chile, Casilla
3731, Santiago 1, Chile.
So far,
responses have been received from more than 60
architects in 30 different countries. The National
Spiritual Assembly will review the designs after the 30
November submission deadline.
