Aci 124.1R-92 [PDF]

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ACI 124.1 R-92 (Reapproved 1997)



An abstract: Esthetics in Concrete Slide Module S.01-92



BAHA’I HOUSE OF WORSHIP Repotted by ACI Committee 124 Mary K. Hurd Chairman Phillip J. Arnold William M. Avery Robert C. Bates Charles M. Dabney



Russell S. Fling C. Stewart Gloyd Harry M. Palmbaum Michael J. Paul



Peter Smith Stewart C. Watson Bruce R. Wellek



Consulting members: Jose A. Fernandez Ordonez



J .G. Richardson



Lynn Olson



Paul Ritter



“Baha’i House of Worship” is a slide and text module that presents an example of concrete experienced esthetically. Twenty color slides are interpreted in the accompanying text folder that describes design and construction of the structure. Historic notes and listed references guide the user to more in-depth information about the building. The Baha’i Temple on Sheridan Road in Wilmette, Illinois, is just north of Evanston and Chicago. Lake Michigan can be seen from its eastern entrance. It is the North American home for a faith originating in Persia in the mid-1800s. Construction of the Temple was started in 1921. With many difficulties including a fire during construction and delay caused by World War II, the building was finally dedicated in 1953. The nine-sided building is topped by a magnificent dome, consisting of a precast concrete outer shell, supported on a central steel superstructure with an aluminum and glass watershed inside of it. Inside the weather barrier is a second intricately pierced shell of white precast concrete. Two tiers, each with nine graceful pylons, complement and appear to support the dome structure. Intertwined detail in the precast exposed aggregate concrete of the pylons contains symbols representing the world’s great religions. Architect Louis Bourgeois and Baha’i planners originally expected the structure to be built of ornamental plaster, but John J. Earley Studios submitted a lower bid for precast concrete, which all agreed would be preferable for appearance, cleanliness, and permanence. The building’s surface reveals a close attention to consistent size of the exposed quartz aggregate. John Earley devised a formula using white cement and precisely gap-graded white and translucent quartz. In brilliant sunlight, or at night under floodlights, the Baha’i Temple is seen as a resplendent and luminous structure due to the reflective quality of the quartz aggregate and the color of the cement. ACI Committee Reports, Guides, Standard Practices, and Commentaries are intended for guidance in designing, planning, executing, or inspecting construction and in preparing specifications. Reference to these documents shall not be made in the Project Documents. If items found in these documents are desired to be part of the Project Documents they should be phrased in mandatory language and incorporated into the Project Documents.



Copyright 0 1992, American Concrete Institute. All rights reserved including rights of reproduction and use in any form or by any means, including the making of copies by any photo process, or by any electronic or mechanical device, printed, written, or oral, or recording for sound or visual reproduction or for use in any knowledge or retrieval system or device, unless permission in writing is obtained from the copyright proprietors.



124.1R-1