First steps taken to raise walls of central plaza

BAHÁ’Í WORLD CENTRE — As construction of the floor for the central plaza of the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá nears completion, preparations are underway to build the more complex geometric elements of surrounding walls.

This and other recent developments on the site are featured in the images that follow.

Panels for the custom-made formwork that will shape the walls have now been delivered to the site.

The formwork that will act as a mold for the plaza walls is assembled for the first time.

The gap between the steel panels will be filled with concrete to form a single wall segment.

This mold will be used to build ten identical segments of the walls that will surround the central plaza, whose geometric pattern is visible in the design rendering to the left.

Top: View from the central plaza area toward the south plaza. Bottom: The curved portal wall that will enclose the south plaza takes shape.

Another view of the southeast curved portal wall that will enclose the south plaza.

Formwork is also being assembled for the curved portal wall along the north end of the east garden berm.

Two utility rooms that will be concealed under the garden berms are being built adjacent to the central plaza.

In one of the final stages of preparation for the floor of the central plaza, formwork is put in place for paths among the planters that will hold soil and irrigation for the gardens.

With the paths laid out, the geometric pattern of these gardens becomes visible.

An encircling path is being built on which visitors will be able to circumambulate the Shrine.

A view of the site from the west (left). The wall visible in the foreground marks the line where the slope of the garden berms will meet the encircling path, as seen in the design rendering (right).