Photo: Vanessa Guillen
A luminous worship space designed and built with the creative use of computer modelling, measuring, and fabrication software, and custom glass, has won the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Innovation in Architecture Award for 2017.
The Bahá?í Temple of South America by Hariri Pontarini Architects of Toronto is a domed structure set in the foothills of the Andes Mountains outside Santiago, Chile. Nine monumental veils frame an open worship space that expresses a faith of inclusion and accommodates up to 600 visitors. Fourteen years in the making, it was completed in 2016.
?The successful resolution of a project of such extraordinary ambition establishes a legacy for future projects for the profession,? said the three-member jury, consisting of Howard Sutcliffe, FRAIC, Principal, Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, Toronto; Michael Green, FRAIC, Principal, Michael Green Architecture, Vancouver; and J. David Bowick, P. Eng., President, Blackwell Structural Engineers, Toronto. Photo: Hariri Pontarini Architects
?The assembly of an international and local team of suppliers, consultants and fabricators demonstrate how the profession is increasingly working in complex, globalized environments that demand a sophisticated use of evolving software, communication and fabrication software tools,? they wrote.
The Innovation in Architecture award recognizes exceptional architectural innovation. Potential areas for innovation include research and develop...