The Bahá’í Temple of South America, designed by Siamak Hariri of Hariri Pontarini Architects of Toronto, ON, has received the 2019 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) International Prize for excellence in architecture.
The temple, in the foothills of the Andes on the eastern edge of Santiago, Chile, is composed of nine gracefully torqued wings bound to a central oculus. “Featuring an interior of translucent Portuguese marble and an exterior of cast-glass panels, the building shifts with a mesmerizing play of light, material, and surface,” according to a Hariri press release.
The structure was built to survive in the rugged climate of this earthquake-prone region and has welcomed more than 1.7 million visitors since its completion in October 2017.
