LOTUS TEMPLE

LOCATION MAP

THE BAHÁ'Í HOUSE OF WORSHIP IN DELHI, INDIA, LOCATED AT 28°33′11.46″N 77°15′35.10″Eo Architectural style : Expressionisto Location : New Delhi, Indiao Completed : 13 November 1986o Opening : 24 December 1986o Height : 34.27mo Technical detailso Structural system : Concrete frame and

precast concrete ribbed roofo Diameter : 70mo Design and constructiono Architect : Fariborz Sahbao Structural engineer : Flint & Neillo Seating capacity : 1 ,300

S ITE PLAN

ZONING PLAN

ARIAL V IEW

BAHÁ'Í HOUSE OF WORSHIP o THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH IS A MONOTHEISTIC RELIGION FOUNDED BY

BAHÁ'U'LLÁH IN 19TH-CENTURY PERSIA, EMPHASIZING THE SPIRITUAL UNITY OF ALL HUMANKIND. THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED FIVE TO SIX MILLION BAHÁ'ÍS AROUND THE WORLD IN MORE THAN 200 COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES

o IN THE CAPITAL CITY OF DELHI LIES THE BAHA’I MASHRIQU'L-ADHKAR, BETTER KNOWN AS THE"LOTUSTEMPLE" DUE TO ITS SHAPE LIKE A HALF OPENED LOTUS FLOWER BUILT IN WHITE MARBLE.

o  THE TEMPLE IS A SYMBOL OF THE BAHA’I FAITH, WHICH BELIEVES IN ONENESS OF ALL RELIGIONS AND MANKIND. THIS FAITH GIVES EMPHASIS ON PRAYER AND MEDITATION.

o THE BAHA'I FAITH IS THE YOUNGEST OF THE WORLD'S INDEPENDENT RELIGIONS. IT'S 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 ABRAHAM, MOSES, BUDDHA, KRISHNA, ZOROASTER, CHRIST AND MUHAMMAD.

SCARED SYMBOL

When one looks closely at Indian architecture, one realizes that despite the outward dissimilarities to be seen between various temples, we can sometimes discover significant and sacred symbols regarded as holy and divine by all the Indian religions, symbols which have even penetrated to other countries and other religions. One of these symbols is the sacred flower of the Indians, the lotus.

CREATIVE FORCE

The symbolism of the lotus flower (padma, pundarika, utpala) was borrowed by the Buddhists directly from the parent religion Brahmanism. From earliest history, the lotus flower appears to have symbolized for Aryans primarily the idea of superhuman or divine birth, and secondarily the creative force and immortality. The traditional Indian and Buddhist explanation is that the glorious lotus flower appears to spring not from the sordid earth but from the surface of the water and is always pure and unsullied, no matter how impure the water of the lake may be. It thus expresses the idea of supernatural birth and the emergence of the first created living thing from the primordial waters of chaos.

ARCHITECTURAL BRILLIANCE OF LOTUS TEMPLE

It took 10 long years for Fariborz Sahba to complete the Lotus Temple in Delhi. As many as 800 Engineers, Artisans, Workers, and Technicians made their valuable contribution in completing the temple.

The structure comprises more than 20 Petals that are arranged in 3 Ranks. The petals are made of concrete cast and are wrapped in Marble. The arches offer the main support to the structure. There are pools on the outside where you will find reflections of the petals. These are basically the green leaves of the lotus petals.

o One of the significant features of the Lotus Temple is the precision with which the temple has been made without upsetting the Indian history and simultaneously making it an engineering masterpiece.

o The cost of building the Lotus Temple was Rs. 10 million

o Asia’s one and only Bahai Temple.o During the course of the construction of the

Lotus Temple, a lot of hardship had to be faced by the workers. This was mainly due to the fact that the 9 petals had to be built so close to each other, that there was little space left for working upon the adjacent structures. This was really challenging. And there were times when the workers had to work for 48 hours at a stretch to maintain the continuity of the structure.

oThere are 9 Entry Points in the temple that open directly into a central hall that can accommodate as many as 25,000 worshippers.

T H E T E M P L E I S D E VO I D O F D E I T I E S . T H E R E A R E M E D I TAT I O N H A L L S W H E R E P E O P L E O F A L L R E L I G I O N C A N G AT H E R.

The Worship Hall

ARCHITECTURAL BLOSSOMING OF THE LOTUS

The temple proper comprises a basement to accommodate the electrical and plumbing components, and a lotus-shaped superstructure to house the assembly

oThe temple complex, as seen from the layout, consists of the main house of worship; the ancillary block which houses the reception centre, the library and the administrative building; and the restrooms block.

All around the lotus are walkways with beautiful curved balustrades, bridges and stairs, which surround the nine pools representing the floating leaves of the lotus. Apart from serving an obvious aesthetic function, the pools also help ventilate the building.

WALK WAY & STAIR WAY

The top where the leaves separate out, nine radial beams provide the necessary lateral support. Since the lotus is open at the top, a glass and steel roof at the level of the radial beams provides protection from rain and facilitates the entry of natural light into the auditorium. Below the entrance leaves and outer leaves, nine massive arches rise in a ring. A row of steps through each arch lead into the main hall

The inner leaves enclose the interior dome in a canopy made of crisscrossing ribs and shells of intricate pattern. When viewed from inside, each layer of ribs and shells disappears as it rises, behind the next, lower layer . Some of the ribs converge radialy and meet at a central hub.

The radial beams emanating from the inner leaves described earlier meet at the centre of the building and rest on this hub. A neoprene pad is provided between the radial beams and the top of the interior dome to allow lateral movement caused by the effects of temperature changes and wind.

LOTUS TEMPLE INFORMATION CENTRE

The Information Centre of the Lotus Temple consists of a ART GALLERY or we can say it a PICTORIAL MUSEUM having all the information about Lotus Temple and the Baha’i House Of Worship.

Attached is the office of the DIRECTOR of Office Of Public Relations inside who have all the records of the Concerts, School Trips and everything else happening in the Temple.

A glance at the design will show that the 9 pools around the building form the principal landscaping. At the same time, they represent the green leaves of the lotus afloat on water. Moreover, the pools and fountains help to cool the air that passes over them into the hall. The super-structure, the podium, and the pools are designed as an integrated whole, and the parts cannot be separated from the whole.

LOTUS WATER POND

JET ALL AROUNT THE POUND

SEQUENCES OF CONSTRUCTIONThe basement and the inner podium were constructed first. Thereafter, for casting the arches and shells, the structure was divided into convenient parts, taking into consideration that when de-shuttered , the portion of the shells cast would be self-supporting until the remaining shells were completed. The structure was divided as follows:

ARCH.All around the central hall are nine splendid arches placed at angular intervals of 40 degrees. The shape of these arches is formed by a number of plane, conical and cylindrical surfaces. The intersection of these surfaces provides interesting contours and greatly enhances the beauty of the arches. The nine arches bear almost the entire load of the superstructure. All 9 arches were cast one after the other in two lifts until the circle was completed. The de-shuttering of the soffit of each arch was taken up after the adjacent arches had attained specified strength .

INTERIOR DOMEThree ribs spring from the crown of each arch. While the central one (the dome rib) rises radialy towards the central hub, the other two (the base ribs) move away from the central rib and intersect with similar base ribs of adjacent arches, thus forming an intricate pattern. Other radial ribs rise from each of these intersections and all meet at the centre of the dome .Up to a certain height, the space between the ribs is covered by two layers of 6Omm-thick shells. The intricate pattern of the interior dome

SECTION THROUGH ENTRANCE LEAVE & INTERIOR DOME

Entrance leaves and outer leaves.The shell surfaces on both sides of the ridge of the

entrance and outer leaves are formed out of spheres of different radii, with their centres located at different points inside the building. There is one set of spheres for the entrance leaves, some of which define the inner surfaces, and others which define the outer surfaces of the shells. The diameters of the spheres have been fixed to satisfy the structural consideration of varying shell thickness. Similarly, for the outer leaves, another set of spheres defines the inner and outer surfaces of the shells. However, for the outer leaves, the shell is uniformly 133 mm thick towards the bottom, and increases to 255 mm up to the tip, beyond the glazing line.The entrance leaf is 18.2m wide at the entrance and rises 7.8m above the podium level. The outer leaf is 15.4m wide and rises up to 22.5m above the podium.

Since the climate in Delhi is very hot for several months of the year, and the degree of humidity varies, it seemed as though the only solution for the ventilation problem would be air-conditioning.

However, this is very expensive to install and maintain, and, therefore, not feasible for a temple in India.

On the basis of the methods of ventilation used in Ancient buildings, a different, though complicated solution for the ventilation problem of the Temple has been devised. This, in a way, can be called “NATURAL VENTILATION" , and is based upon the results of “Smoke Tests" which were performed in the Imperial College of London on a model of the Temple.

VENTILATION

INTERNAL VENTILATION SYSTEM

oThe results demonstrated that with openings in the basement and at the top, the building would act like a chimney, drawing up warm air from within the hall and expelling it through the top of the dome. Thus, constant draughts of cool air, after passing over the pools and through the basement, flow into the hall and out through the opening at the top.This ventilation is complemented in two other ways:-• A set of exhaust fans is arranged in the dome

to cool the concrete shell and prevent transference of heat into the temple, while

• Another set of fans funnel air from the auditorium into the cold basement, where it is cooled and recycled back into the auditorium.

This system, and its maintenance is by far cheaper than air-conditioning, and our calculations forecast pleasant and agreeable temperatures inside the Temple.

The Lotus represents the Manifestation of God, and is also a symbol of Purity and Tenderness. Its significance is deeply rooted in the minds and hearts of the Indians. In the epic poem of Mahabharata, the CREATOR BRAHMA is described as having sprung from the Lotus that grew out of Lord Vishnu’s navel when that deity lay absorbed in meditation. There is a deep and universal reverence for the lotus, which is regarded as a sacred flower associated with Worship throughout many centuries.

LORD BUDDHA had said that

“WE SHOULD BE LIKE A LOTUS WHICH ALTHOUGH LIVE IN DIRTY WATER,STILL REMAINS BEAUTIFUL AND UNDEFILED BY ITS SURROUNDINGS.”

FINAL SIGNIFICATION

 Closed on public holidays :  NoEntery fee :  FreeAuthorization :  NoAddress :   Lotus Templ East Kailash Hill, Kalka ji, New Delhi, Delhi 110019, IndiaContact No : 011-26470526

Visiting Hours:Summer Timing (1st April to 30th September) TUESDAY to SUNDAY (Monday closed) 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Winter Timing (1st October to 31st March)TUESDAY to SUNDAY (Monday closed)9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

For the Exotic View Visit During Evening Hours as Lotus Temple Glitters Like Diamond. Evening is the Best Time to Visit.

THANK YOU

GROUP NO.- 5 DEEPIKA ATTARIA MAHIPAT RATHOR NITIN MOHAN BAHRTI DHARMANI MITALI SHARMA DEEPIKA CHODHRY