Lotus Temple

The Bahai House of Worship in Delhi is commonly called The Lotus Temple due to its architectural resemblance to a lotus. Designed by Fariborz Sahba, a Canadian architect of Iranian origin, it took ten years to complete. The Lotus Temple opened to public in 1987 and has since then won many architectural awards and featured in magazine and newspaper articles. The temple has no idol for worship and due to this attracts around five million curious visitors each year. The lotus was chosen as an inspiration for this temple because in India the flower is associated with worship and devotion. It has been a part and parcel of the religious life here throughout the ages.

Location
The Lotus Temple is located near Kalkaji Temple, Kalkaji in South Delhi.

Interesting Facts

Architectural Splendor
Spread over an area of 26 acres (105,000 m²; 10.5 ha), The Lotus Temple in Delhi is composed of 27 free-standing marble clad "petals" arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides. Nine doors open onto a central hall, capable of holding up to 2,500 people. Slightly more than 40 meters tall, its surface is made of white marble. The temple at times seems to float above its nine ponds surrounding the temple with their formation suggesting the green leaves of a lotus flower. The 'lotus petals' have virtually no straight lines.

The construction workers worked for 48 hours continuously to produce perfectly aligned double curved surface to avoid joints. The basic materials used for construction was cement, marble, sand, steel and dolomite. The steel, used to reinforce the 6-18 cm thick petals, was galvanized first to prevent it from rusting. White cement and marble has been used to give it a pure and saintly look.