LOTUS

LOCATION MAP

THE BAH' HOUSE OF WORSHIP IN DELHI,

INDIA, LOCATED AT 283311.46N 771535.10E
Architectural style
o Location
o Completed
o Opening
o Height
o

o Technical

: Expressionist
: New Delhi, India
: 13 November 1986
: 24 December 1986
: 34.27m

details

Structural system
: Concrete frame and
precast concrete ribbed roof
o Diameter
: 70m
o

o Design

and construction

Architect
o Structural engineer
o Seating capacity
o

: Fariborz Sahba
: Flint & Neill
: 1 ,300

SITE PLAN

ZONING PLAN

ARIAL VIEW

BAH' HOUSE OF WORSHIP

THE BAH' FAITH IS A MONOTHEISTIC RELIGION FOUNDED BY

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

IN THE CAPITAL CITY OF DELHI LIES THE BAHAI MASHRIQU'L-ADHKAR,

BETTER KNOWN AS THE"LOTUSTEMPLE"DUE TO ITS SHAPE LIKE A HALF
OPENED LOTUS FLOWER BUILT IN WHITE MARBLE.

THE TEMPLE IS A SYMBOL OF THE BAHAI FAITH, WHICH BELIEVES IN

ONENESS OF ALL RELIGIONS AND MANKIND. THIS FAITH GIVES
EMPHASIS ON PRAYER AND MEDITATION.

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

A R C H I T E C T U R A L B R I L L I A N C E O F LO T U S
TEMPLE

It took10 long yearsfor Fariborz Sahba to complete

the Lotus Temple in Delhi. As many as800
Engineers,Artisans,Workers, andTechniciansmade
their valuable contribution in completing the temple.

The structure comprises more than20 Petalsthat

are arranged in3 Ranks. The petals are made of
concrete cast and are wrapped inMarble. 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
o

oThere are9 Entry Pointsin

the temple that open
directly into a central hall
that can accommodate as
many as25,000
worshippers.
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.
The cost of building the Lotus Temple wasRs.10
million
Asias one and only Bahai Temple.
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

The Worship Hall

THE TEMPLE IS DEVOID OF DEITIES. THERE ARE
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 .

A R C H I T E C T U R A L B LO SS O M I N G O F T H E
LO T U S
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.

The

temple proper comprises a basement to accommodate the electrical and

plumbing components, and a lotus-shaped superstructure to house the assembly

WALK WAY & S TA I R WAY

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.

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 Bahai House Of
Worship.

Attached is the office of the DIRECTOR of Office Of

Public Relations inside who have all the records of

LOTUS WATER POND

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 superstructure, the podium, and the pools are designed
as an integrated whole, and the parts cannot be
separated from the whole.

JET ALL AROUNT

THE POUND

SEQUENCES OF
CONSTRUCTION
The
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
ARCH
were
completed.
Thehall
structure
divided
as
All
around
the central
are nine was
splendid
arches
follows:at angular intervals of 40 degrees. The
placed
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-

INTERIOR DOME
Three 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

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

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.

VENTILATION

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.

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.

FINAL SIGNIFICATION
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 Vishnus navel when that deity lay absorbed
in meditation. There is a deep and universal
LORD BUDDHA
said
thatis regarded as a
reverence
for the had
lotus,
which
sacred flower associated with Worship throughout
WE SHOULD BE LIKE A LOTUS WHICH
many centuries.
ALTHOUGH LIVE IN DIRTY WATER,STILL
REMAINS BEAUTIFUL AND UNDEFILED BY ITS
SURROUNDINGS.

Visiting Hours:
Summer Timing
(1st April to 30th September)
TUESDAY to SUNDAY
(Monday closed)
9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Closed on public holidays :
Winter Timing
No
(1st October
31st March)
Entery
fee : to
Free
TUESDAY to SUNDAY
Authorization
: No
(Monday: closed)
Address
Lotus Templ East
9:30 a.m.
5:30ji,
p.m.
Kailash
Hill,toKalka
NewVisit
Delhi,
Delhi
For the Exotic View
During
Evening Hours as
110019,
IndiaGlitters Like Diamond.Evening is
Lotus
Temple
Contact
No :011-26470526
the
Best Time
to Visit.

THANK YOU

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