Baháʼí World Centre buildings
The Baháʼí World Centre buildings are buildings that are part of the Baháʼí World Centre in Israel. The Baháʼí World Centre buildings include both the Baháʼí holy places used for pilgrimage and the international administrative bodies of the Baháʼí Faith; they comprise more than 20 different administrative offices, pilgrim buildings, libraries, archives, historical residences, and shrines. These structures are all set amidst more than 30 different gardens or individual terraces.
The buildings themselves are located in Haifa, Acre, and Bahjí, Israel. The location of the Baháʼí World Centre buildings has its roots in Baháʼu'lláh's imprisonment in Acre, which is near Haifa, by the Ottoman Empire during the period of Ottoman rule over Palestine, now Israel.
Many Baháʼí holy places in Haifa and around Acre, including the terraces and the Shrine of the Báb on the north slope on Mount Carmel, and the Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh, the Mansion of Bahji, and the Mansion at Mazra'ih were inscribed on the World Heritage List in July 2008. The Baháʼí shrines "are the first sites connected with a relatively new religious tradition to be recognized by the World Heritage List." The UNESCO World Heritage Committee considers the sites to be "of outstanding universal value ...inscribed for the testimony they provide to the Baháʼí's strong tradition of pilgrimage and for their profound meaning for the faith."
Haifa
is the third-largest city in Israel, and it is a seaport, located below and on Mount Carmel, and lies on the Mediterranean coast. In 1891 Baháʼu'lláh himself designated Mount Carmel as the location for the Shrine of the Báb. Later, Baháʼu'lláh in the Tablet of Carmel wrote that Mount Carmel would be the physical location of the Baháʼí World Centre.Shrine of the Báb
The Shrine of the Báb is the location where the Báb's remains have been finally laid to rest. The location was designated by Baháʼu'lláh himself in 1891 while he was camped, with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, on Mount Carmel. The location is right above the German Colony, which was established in the 1860s by the German Templer Society, who were working for the Kingdom of God on earth. The initial shrine was built by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and completed in 1909. Many years later, the superstructure was completed by Shoghi Effendi, and finally dedicated in 1953.The architect was William Sutherland Maxwell, a Canadian Baháʼí who was a Beaux-Arts architect and the father-in-law of Shoghi Effendi. Shoghi Effendi provided overall guidance, including in the use of Western and Eastern styles, but left the artistic details to Maxwell. Maxwell's design of the Rose Baveno granite colonnade, Oriental-style Chiampo stone arches, and golden dome is meant to harmonize Eastern and Western proportions and style. Some remaining aspects of the dome's structural engineering were designed by Professor H. Neumann of Haifa's Technion University.
After Maxwell died in 1952, Leroy Ioas, an American Baháʼí who had been closely associated with the construction of the Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois helped Shoghi Effendi in the construction process. Ioas employed his administrative skills and practical mind to supervise the building of the drum and dome, a task done without the availability of sophisticated machinery.
Temporary Shrine of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
The Shrine of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá is where ʻAbdu'l-Bahá is buried.The Arc
The Arc is a grouping of administrative buildings on the slopes of Mount Carmel. They include the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the Seat of the International Teaching Centre, the International Archives, and the Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts. A fifth building, the International Baháʼí Library, has yet to be built.Baháʼu'lláh in his Tablet of Carmel wrote that God would "sail His Ark" on Mount Carmel and said the mountain will be "the seat of His throne." This statement was interpreted by Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Baháʼí Faith during the first half of the 20th century, as referring to the establishment of the Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the Baháʼís; connected with this establishment, the prophecy was linked to a number of administrative institutions that would be established on Mount Carmel. Shoghi Effendi decided that the buildings housing the institutions would be designed on an arc and surrounded by gardens. The fulcrum of arc would be Monument Gardens, which hold the graves of some of the members of the Baháʼí holy family.
The buildings include bomb shelters as required by law and an underground passage which connects the buildings.
International Archives
The International Archives is the first building to be built on the Arc and holds many of the most sacred items of the Baháʼí Faith, including the sword of Mullá Husayn, the photos of Baháʼu'lláh, and a painting of the Báb.Shoghi Effendi chose the Parthenon as the basis for the design, possibly due to the apparent enduring beauty even after thousands of years. The capitals of the fifty columns were Ionic rather than the Doric Order. It was finished in 1957 however Shoghi Effendi never lived to furnish the interior. This was left to his wife Rúhíyyih Khanum.
Previously the rear three rooms of the Shrine of the Báb and then the building beside the Monument Gardens now called the [|Department of Holy Places] were temporary Archives buildings.
Seat of the Universal House of Justice
The Seat of the Universal House of Justice is a large building located in Haifa, Israel, where the Universal House of Justice operates. It includes the chamber where the Universal House of Justice holds its meetings as well as a reception concourse, banquet room, reference library, and a few other offices of the Baháʼí World Centre.The building is located at the apex of the Arc and has fifty-eight Corinthian columns around it to mirror the design of the International Archives. Planning for the building began in 1972, and in 1973 the architect Hossein Amanat was chosen. It was completed in 1982 during the second stage of building on the Arc, to be occupied in 1983.
International Teaching Centre Building
Built in the third stage of the building of the Arc, the International Teaching Centre Building is where the International Teaching Centre is based. The architect was Hossein Amanat. Its construction was announced in 1987 and it was completed in 2000.Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts
Built in the third stage of the building of the Arc, the Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts is the base for the scholars and translators who study and translate the Baháʼí texts to assist the Universal House of Justice. The architect was Hossein Amanat and it was completed in 1999.International Baháʼí Library Building
The International Baháʼí Library Building, specified by Shoghi Effendi, is not yet built. The Baháʼí World Centre Library holds an extensive collection of Baháʼí literature. The Universal House of Justice stated: "In future decades its functions must grow, it will serve as an active centre for knowledge in all fields, and it will become the kernel of great institutions of scientific investigation and discovery."Monument Gardens
The Monument Gardens are a set of gardens that hold the graves of some of the members of the family of Baháʼu'lláh. The grave monuments are at the fulcrum of the arc of administrative buildings, located downhill from the seat of the Universal House of Justice. They were constructed by Shoghi Effendi between 1932 and 1939.Graves include those of
- Ásíyih Khánum — Baháʼu'lláh's first wife
- Bahíyyih Khánum — Baháʼu'lláh's daughter
- Mirzá Mihdí — Baháʼu'lláh's youngest son from his first wife
- Munirih Khánum — ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's wife
Terraces
Nine concentric circles provide the main geometry of the eighteen terraces. Just as the identification of a circle presupposes a centre, so the terraces have been conceived as generated from the Shrine of the Báb. The eighteen terraces plus the one terrace of the Shrine of the Báb make nineteen terraces in total. Nineteen is a significant number within both the Baháʼí and Bábí religions.
Visitors Centre
The Visitors Centre is an underground structure on the 11th terrace behind the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel.. It can be found on street level under the Hatzionut Bridge which the terraces pass over.House of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
'Abdu'l-Bahá, who was the head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 to 1921, designed and built a house in Haifa on 7 Haparsim Street after his father Baháʼu'lláh died. It was completed in 1908, and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá moved to the house in August 1910. It became his official residence. After his travels to the West, it became the place for the reception of pilgrims to the Baháʼí World Centre. The election of the first Universal House of Justice occurred in this house in 1963.Pilgrim Houses
Pilgrim Houses signify buildings where pilgrims are greeted and housed during pilgrimage to the Baháʼí holy places. There have been numerous buildings dedicated as Baháʼí pilgrim houses in the Haifa area.Original Western Pilgrim House
The original Western Pilgrim House, located at 4 Haparsim Street in Haifa, Israel, was used as a Pilgrim House for Baháʼís of Western origin, who had come for pilgrimage during the early years of the 20th century, before it was replaced by the new Western Pilgrim House on 10 Haparsim Street.The house is currently part of the Baháʼí World Centre. While it was originally rented to serve as a Pilgrim House, the house was then bought by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. After being replaced by a new Western Pilgrim House, the site was then used by members of the Baháʼí holy family. It left Baháʼí hands shortly before being re-bought by the Universal House of Justice.