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Temple Renovation Continues in Winter Season |
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 As outside construction on the Temple wraps up for the cold Chicago winter season, much work is being done indoors in the concrete studio to restore the Temple and its grounds.
This “behind the scenes” work is what makes the restoration possible – the concrete studio crew labors year-round to make our Mother Temple shine anew. Currently, there are many projects underway in our studio.
The studio crew is currently making the concrete pavers to replace the monumental stair landings and terrace landings. The 3,800 precast pavers all appear to look square but they aren't. Each is angled in just the right way so that when they are set in place on the terrace deck and on the monumental landing the squares radiate from the center of the House of Worship. These new pavers will be put in place outside of the Temple doors in the spring.
Testing water repellant sealers that will be used to seal the dome's concrete.
 Testing water repellant sealers that will be used to seal the dome's concrete |
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Another winter project underway is creating an architectural concrete cladding for the terrace wall. When the gardens were first built, the Bahá'í community did not have the resources to complete the architectural finish on the terrace wall, so it remained a structural concrete foundation wall. The new wall cladding will be made of the same golden pebble ornamental concrete that is used for the garden stairs and borders within the terrace pavers.
Additionally, the white quartz concrete cornice above the Auditorium doors has deteriorated in several locations. If you look closely at the cornice you will see areas that have a repair patch and areas where the rebar is exposed. The molds for the cornice repair are already made and will be used for casting this winter.
Other projects this winter include: rebuilding the Auditorium's bronze doors with new closures and door thresholds; creating design and construction documents for the new reflecting pool and Linden Avenue stairway at the main entrance to the gardens; engineering an upgrade to the heating and air conditioning inside the House of Worship; fabrication of the railings for the terrace deck; developing a design for the circular walk bridge over the service drive, preparing a design for the new Visitors Center and finalizing the construction documents for the water-resistant clear sealer to be put over the dome of the Temple.
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 Material scientists examining the concrete |
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Work continues on the Temple in all kinds of weather and in so many different and unique ways!
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