ART057-1 : Contexts and ideas

THE LOTUS TEMPLE

 The Lotus Temple is situated in India, it was designed by Fariborz Sahba and opened to the public by 1986. The Lotus Temple is part of the 7 Baha’i Houses of Worship. The Baha’i temples are located all around the world, they all look completely different, but they still represent their faith. Every single Baha’i temple includes nine different entrances which allows anyone to enter from different directions, and with a central dome. This dome from the inside functions as a skylight, which allows natural light source in. It’s beauty at night, as you can see the lights starts from the bottom and bounces against the petals, which creates this amazing powerful site. (HOLIDIFY/2018)

The outside will captivate anyone’s attention, with the symmetrical shapes and the mesmerising white exterior, which makes the whole thing feel so pure. Around the temple, there is 9 water ponds, this creates natural ventilation, it allows the cool air to travel upwards and surround the building. I love how it was influenced by the Lotus flower, because it symbolises a new start, self- regeneration, enlightenment and rebirth. This building is nearly 34 years old, so speaking in the right context, it’s quite an old building, but I’m so amazed at the fact that it could have easily been produced yesterday. (SLIDESHARE/2014)

SRI HARMANDIR SAHIB (GOLDEN TEMPLE)

This is the Sri Harmandir Sahib Temple, which is located in Punjab India, was designed by Guru Arjan Sahib and completed in 1577. It’s one of the most sacred building of the Sikhism religion. It stores a lot of holy scriptures, instructions to their beliefs and much more. It’s also called the Golden temple, because the upper part, including the floors are covered in real gold. (INDIAMART/2018)

This Temple is just plainly jaw-dropping, it was constructed many years ago, and it still shocks me at how pristine it still looks.

The water surrounding the temple is called Amrit Sarovar, and is considered very sacred, in order to be offered a prayer, they bath themselves in this holy water. In my perspective, the water also elevates the beauty of the structure and just really allows that gold finish to sparkle. The Temple wasn’t always gold. After the death of the 10^th Sikh Guru, Guru Govind Singh, the building kept being attacked and targeted by the Islamic Rulers. In 1762, they destroyed the temple using gunpowder, a substance that can easily burn anything, very fast. Due to this disaster, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who was the leader, decided to rebuild the temple, and cover it in gold foil. (HOLIDIFY)

Wat Rong Khun

“The White Temple”

This temple actually took my breath away the minute I laid eyes on it. This temple is so well put together, so unique and super well designed.

It’s located in Chiang Rai. It was designed by the architect Ajarn Chalermchai Kositpipat and completed in the year 1997. Some may not notice, but this temple has 3 roofs, this was inspired by the most traditional Buddhist Temples, which are located also in Thailand. The colour white is a symbol of purity, many Buddhist Temples are covered in gold, because it’s important when it comes to their beliefs. But Ajarn wanted that difference and uniqueness. In 2012, this Temple was hit with an earthquake, luckily due to how strong the materials are, there wasn’t much damage, and it was opened up the public again. (NOT WITHOUT MY PASSPORT/2017)

These are close up pictures showing the different aesthetics, symbols and creatures that are found all around this sacred building. This is to transmit a message. We see many heads and hands that are reaching out, showing people escaping from the negativity, the desire and all the greed, raising to grasp on the enlightenment that this religion teaches you. I find it super beautiful that we’ve these places where anyone can go in, find their peace, find forgiveness and hope. I can’t even imagine the feeling, of being able to walk on this beautiful pathway, the two horns, one on each side, emphasising this grand entrance, it must be a great experience.

Lisbon Portugal Temple

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints“

Last year I had the opportunity to go and visit this temple, and it was honestly one of the best experiences.

This is the first ever temple built in Portugal, the 166^th temple of The Church of Jesus Christ, and the 14^th in the whole of Europe. It was completed in the year 2019 but there’s no name to who may have designed it. This building is a presentation of the modern Portuguese architecture. Starting with the material covering the exterior, it’s called Moleanos limestone, it’s a material that you see a lot in many Portuguese buildings. It’s formed from the very bottom of an ancient sea. (Church of Jesus Christ/2019)

I absolutely love how simple it looks on the outside, with this finish, it gave it such a high touch of elegance. I love how all the windows follow the same rectangular shape, again adding to the simple feel. On the top of the building is an Angel Moroni statue. Any Temple from The Church of Jesus Christ you will see this gold angel.

When you first look at the exterior, you wouldn’t imagine that the interior could look this stunning. You aren’t allowed to walk in without covering your shoes, the flooring is really high priced, and requires to be protected, at all times. There are rooms for different occasions, weddings, prayers, baptism and a few more. Majority of rooms you’re blessed with Swarovski crystal chandeliers, and around you will see a lot of tiles inspired by Art Deco. Tiles are a big part of Portugal; you see them everywhere. This Temple I can see and tell that it’s been inspired by the Portuguese culture. Being Portuguese myself, it’s truly amazing to see.

Temppeliaukio Church

This is a modern architectural Church, which was built in solid rocks. Temppeliaukion Church is located in Helsinki Finland. It was built in 1969 and designed by architect brothers Tuomo and Timo Suomalainen. (ATLASOBSCURA)

From the outside view, this building looks like it just fell from the sky and created this massive disruption which resulted in rocks being scattered everywhere. Because this is an actual church and not a temple, I was shocked when I saw this construction, have you ever seen a church that doesn’t look like a church? because I haven’t, and it’s refreshing and really intriguing to see. 

This Church is influenced by natural elements. The dome is made of copper. The building as a very large skylight which allows the natural sun rays to illuminate the interior. The interior walls are also made of solid rocks.

These are a few pictures of the interior, to allow you to see and explore more of this Church’s uniqueness and beauty. When the Sacred building was open to the public, Christians felt like it wasn’t traditional enough, they felt like it was too extravagant. That the money that was spent on the building should’ve have been used for more important causes. As years went by the Temppeliaukion Church became one of the most visited buildings in Finland. It now serves as a church and also a tourist attraction. (AMUSINGPLANET/2016)

SAINT BASIL’s CATHEDRAL

This beautiful Christian Cathedral is located in Moscow Russia. It was completed in the year 1561 and designed by Postnik Yakovlev and Ian Barma. There is a theory, that the architects after building this Cathedral had to be blinded, this way, this designed wouldn’t be able to be replicated anywhere else. The church has also been in danger a couple of times. In the year 1812, the French troops wanted to blow it up, but they didn’t come to it. In the year 1920s, the authorities wanted the church to be demolished, because they didn’t like the idea of having a house of worship in the centre of Moscow. But now it has become one the most visited places in the whole of Moscow. (RUSSIABEYOND/2016)

This building looks like something you would see in Disneyland because of the design. This church has a total of 8 different towers, shaped like an onion. Each with its own design and pattern. The church is covered in bright colours and different shapes. But the colour scheme wasn’t always bright. Up to the 19th century, the church used to just be white and gold, which represents purity.

Continuing with the bright colours, the interior is covered in holy images, all in different tones and sizes, and big bright chandeliers, really enhancing the church theme.