Location: Santiago, Chile
Opening Date: October 14, 2016
Architect: Hariri Pontarini Architects
Engineers: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Superstructure & Cladding: Gartner Steel and Glass GmbH
Exterior Cladding: Jeff Goodman Studio
Building Dimension: 30 m dia. X 30 m high
The Bahá’í Faith is one of the youngest of the world’s major religions. It was founded in Iran by Bahá’u’lláh in 1863.
The South American House of Worship is the last of the 8 continental Temples commissioned by the Bahá’í Community. This wondrous piece of architecture is built on 10 hectares of land just outside Santiago, Chile in the foothills of the Andes mountains. Nine identical “wings” are assemble to create the dome like shape. Each “wing” is comprised of 1,129 unique flat and curved shapes of 1 1/4″ thick glass hand made by Jeff Goodman Studio
The Temple Glass product is a handmade glass surface invented and fabricated by the studio for the Bahá’í Temple of South America. Siamak Hariri approached master craftsman Jeff Goodman with a request for a translucent white glass building product that could filter natural light to create a serene environment while withstanding the rigorous weather fluctuations and seismic activity notorious in the Andes mountains of Chile.
After over 100 samples and years of testing, the Temple Glass was born, a carefully designed formula of borosilicate glass cast in custom made kilns by the team at Jeff Goodman Studio in Toronto. The project took over 12 years to complete, with 8 years dedicated to manufacturing 55,000 square feet of 1 1/4″ thick Temple Glass. Every square inch was set by hand by a team of artisans to ensure consistent pattern and translucency.
Temple glass is available for designers and architects to use in retail, hospitality and residential projects as feature walls, partitions, skylights, custom tables and fireplace surrounds.
Read more about the project at Hariri Pontarini Architects.
Official Bahá’í website: Bahá’í House of Worship of South America
“…a Canadian-designed piece of architectural daring in cast glass is taking shape…Artisans at Toronto’s Jeff Goodman Studio, working in close collaboration with Toronto’s Hariri Pontarini Architects, have produced the thick, milky glass for a Bahai temple on the edge of metropolitan Santiago, Chile…
It took years of testing…to arrive at the 32-millimetre-thick cast glass with matte finish. That the design is finally being mocked up in Germany represents a major milestone, says Hariri…”
Excerpt from Globe and Mail article Gehry, Gartner and glass make for luminous buildings by Lisa Rochon
• Hariri Pontarini Architects wins 2019 RAIC International Prize for Architecture
October 25, 2019
• New Glass Now exhibition at the Corning Museum of Glass
May 12, 2019 to January 5, 2020
Jeff Goodman Studio was selected amongst the 100 artist — representing 32 nationalities and working in 25 countries—to exhibit in New Glass Now, a global survey of contemporary glass and the first exhibition of its kind organized by the Museum in 40 years. The show, which will be on view from May 12, 2019, through January 5, 2020, will include works ranging from large-scale installations and delicate miniatures to video and experiments in glass chemistry, all of which demonstrate the vitality and versatility of this dynamic material.
• New Glass Review 39 published by The Corning Museum of Glass.
• Canadian Architect “In the Heights” by Francisco Díaz
• ArchDaily “Bahá’í Temple of South America Wins 2017 Innovation in Architecture Award” by Sabrina Santos
• Architect Magazine “Bahá’í House of Worship of South America”
• DesignBoom
• Architectural Record “Sun Worshiper: A building with a complex skin blooms in the foothills of the Andes thanks to a multinational, multidisciplinary team” By Deborah Snoonian Glenn
• Azure Magazine “Chile’s Poetic Bahá’í Temple by Hariri Pontarini” by Noah Richler
• Globe and Mail “Spirit in the Sky” by Alex Bozikovic
• Metropolis Magazine “This Bahá’í Temple Took 14 Years To Build—It Was Worth the Wait” by Rayna Razmilic
• “Material Innovation: Architecture” by Andrwe H Dent & Leslie Sherr, published 2014
• Metropolis Magazine “Sacred Structure” by Guy Horton
• Huffington Post “Breathtaking Baha’i Temple Rises in Chile” by Shastri Purushotma
• Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) : Innovation in Architecture Award
• World Architecture News : Civic Buildings—Unbuilt
• International Property Awards, Americas Architecture Award
• Architect Magazine: Progressive Architecture Awards Citation
• Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) : Ideas & Presentations Category, Honourable Mention
• Canadian Architect : Award of Excellence
Bahá’í Temple of South America