The Baha'i International Archives Building and Its Classical Style of Greek Architecture
One of the simpler but useful overall statements of sustainable building from a Baha'i perspective is at:
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The Baha'i Faith and the Environment Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change, Volume 5:Social and Economic Dimensions of Global Environmental Change, by Richard M. Landau, B.A., M.A. (Volume ed. Peter Timmerman, series ed. R.E. Munn, John Wiley and Sons, 2002.)______________It is available on line at:
www.wiley.co.uk/wileychi/egec/vol5a.html
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The Baha'i International Archives Building and Its Classical Style of Greek Architecture: A Form of Beauty 2500 Years Old.
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The Baha'i International Archives Building, erected in 1957 on Mount Carmel in Haifa Israel, echoes the immortal classical style of Greek architecture. An admirer of Greek architecture, Shogi Effendi who was the Guardian of the Baha'i faith, chose this style to carry out the construction of the Archives building. This building replicates the general proportions of the famous Parthenon in Athens, Greece.
The Archives building is a museum which holds the original writings of the Bab, Baha 'u' llah and Abdu' l Baha , as well as some of their clothes and belongings. Baha 'u' llah is the prophet founder of the Baha'i faith and the Manifestation of God for this day. The Baha'i faith originated in Iran in 1863 and is now the second most widespread religion after Christianity. The Bab is the Forerunner of the Baha'i faith. Abdu' l Baha is Baha 'u' llah's eldest son and his designated successor.
Modelled after the Parthenon whose beauty has been sustained perhaps longer than any other in the architectural world, whose beauty has been fenced off in a cordon sanitaire, immune from criticism, an illusive symbol of ageless vitality and youthful vigour even after 2500 years. I shall say no more for now--in this my first posting.-Ron Price, Tasmania, Australia
The Nature of Sustainable Development
Quoting part of Landau's Paper:
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Development, in the Baha'i view, is an organic process in which "the spiritual is expressed and carried out in the material."[11] As with the environmental challenge, the Baha'i view calls for ground-up organic answers that are consistent with the development of the spirituality of all people.
For example, community growth and development will need to respond to the genuine need of all people to have close contact with the natural world. This will influence all aspects of development - from design and engineering to community and land-use planning. Primary among these will be the need for carefully planned maintenance of agricultural lands.
Baha'is believe that science and technology can only provide the answers to sustainable development when they take into account the needs of the human soul. For example, there is little value in building high-efficiency vast networks of concrete roads if the style of architecture blocks sunlight, prevents people from walking and generally leaves the human being dwarfed.
The vast forces of science and technology must be harnessed to serve the material, intellectual, emotional and spiritual needs of the entire human family. This will require that all peoples be involved in generating scientific knowledge and determining its applications. As participation increases, technologies which have tended to desensitize and alienate, to make satisfying work and crafts redundant, to destroy the environment, and to cause sickness, infirmity or death, will, no doubt, be reconsidered, redesigned or abandoned.[12]
Stewardship, from a Baha'i point of view means that the value of nature and its preservation cannot be expressed in sheer economic terms. A more balanced approach to sustainable development can only result when planners have a deep understanding of the significance of the natural realm in the material and spiritual development of all humanity.
Consequently, good stewardship and prudent management of the earth's resources is not merely an "add-on" that is developed in response to a paucity of the resources, but rather an essential and fundamental responsibility that must be given fullest consideration at all times. Good stewardship doesn't involve "rescuing" nature from environmental disasters: it involves long-term planning that minimizes any possibilities of such emergencies occurring.
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