The Bahá’í Temple of South America sits at the foothills of the Andes bordering the metropolis of Santiago, Chile. The exterior structure of glass veils frame an open and accessible worship space where up to 600 visitors can be accommodated, attracting up to 36,000 visitors each weekend. Working with the Architect, PICCO Engineering provided stone engineering consultation and our scope included design-assist and material testing. We sourced translucent marble from the Portuguese Estremoz quarries—panels that form the interior wall of the Temple. Flat pieces were water-jet cut from slabs to the exact shape defined by the computer model. Each wing of the nine-sided Temple contains over 870 unique pieces of marble.

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*Project delivered by Principal prior to joining PICCO