The Nine Valleys—A Bahá’í Temple for Canada

Student Work

Vedad Haghighi

Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

This master’s thesis proposed a Bahá’í temple in Thornhill, Ontario, as guided by the Institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár—a law embodied in the Bahá’í faith. The coherence of worship and service is at the heart of this institution, which endeavors to uplift the spiritual, social, and material conditions of society.

The existing site houses the administrative center for the Bahá’í community and its extensive grounds. The act of design relied on the spirit of its subject matter: a four-year-long engagement with the land itself in private meditation and contemplation through open-air sketches, the collection of found items into artifacts of exploration, and reflective fireside talks with friends and colleagues. This approach led to the decision to meld the temple into the forested valley and surround it with nine gardens.

Friends begin their journey by moving through the interconnected gardens, instilling an awareness of natural spatial experiences. The next step is a series of descending stairs, platforms gently leading into earthen passages that dim the sense of sight, making the ears receptive to what the site has to say. In the valley, the temple—a circular, symmetrical lattice as tall as the surrounding trees—appears, quilted by fragments of metal panels that move with the wind and rain.

Jury Comments

This student project is distinguished through its beautiful drawings to communicate its design. There is a great sense of conveying the haptic quality of these sacred spaces. The connection to the landscape is very sensitive and inviting, with a great sensitivity to passive ecological design.

Project Team Members

Jerry Hacker / M.Arch Thesis Supervisor, Carleton University
Ozayr Saloojee / M.Arch Thesis Co-Supervisor, Carleton University