Santiago Bahá’i Temple

The Santiago Bahá’i Temple in South America was the last of eight temples commissioned worldwide by the Bahá’i religious community.

Constructed at an altitude of 900m, the temple offers magnificent views of the Andes Mountains and has welcomed over 2.5 million visitors since it opened in 2016. The building embodies the connection between the built environment and the wellbeing of society and has become a symbol of unity for Santiago and beyond.

Brand: Gartner

Architect: Hariri Pontarini Architects

Owner and client: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’is of Canada

The project

The concept

The temple consists of nine transparent veils, resembling closed flower petals that seem to rise directly from the ground. The veils are glazed with translucent cast glass units, which allow light to pass through in the day and are suffused with warm light at night. The 30m high building is supported by a framework of rectangular steel hollow sections and mechanically processed steel nodes.

What did we do?

We designed, engineered, manufactured and installed over 5,000 sqm of steel space frame structure, outer cladding with cast glass, inner cladding with translucent Portuguese marble panels, and entrance areas with double curved glazing and bronze cladding. Each component of the individual veils has its own unique, highly irregular shape. Using advanced techniques, we fabricated and assembled most of the steel superstructure at our facility in Germany, before shipping it to Chile and assembling it on site.

Jose Luis Stephens/www.stephensfoto.com

Key facts

Year opened

2016

Building height

30m

Façade materials

Steel, glass, stone

Total façade supplied

An overall area of over 5,000 sqm – space frame structure, outer cladding with cast glass, inner cladding with stone panels, entrance areas with double curved glazing and bronze cladding