Delhi 2018 - The Lotus Temple

The Lotus Temple is located at the South-Eastern side of Delhi. It is around 11km from the city centre and will take around 30 min by car or 1 hour by public transport to get there. It is a place of worship for the Bahai Faith and was dedicated in 1986. 

It is one of the most iconic buildings in the World - being shaped like a lotus flower, and was designed by Fariborz Sahba - an Iranian-American Bahai architect. 

The main building is a circular structure with 9 sides - which is an essential characteristic of a house of worship in the Bahai Faith. The shells which cover the building are shaped like the petals of a lotus flower.

The main building sits on a platform which is elevated over a series of sunken courtyards. 

One of the most interesting aspects of the building is the natural ventilation design. As the main prayer hall is sunken in the centre - the open steps which descend from the main level draws in cool air from the sunken courtyards outside and discharge through openings at the top. The evaporation from the surrounding ponds helps to cool the air before being drawn into the building. It is a clever idea which works really well.

Unfortunately, photography inside the temple is forbidden, so I don't have any photos to show - but the high volume of the space and natural light which floods in between the layered roofs is quite impressive.