The building is composed of 27 free-standing marble-clad "petals" arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides,[1] with nine doors opening onto a central hall with a height of slightly over 34 metres[1] and a capacity of 1,300 people.

[5] The architect of the Lotus Temple was an Iranian, Fariborz Sahba who now lives in La Jolla, California,[6] after spending some years in Canada.

[10][11] The major part of the funds needed to buy this land was donated by Ardishír Rustampúr of Hyderabad, Sindh (Pakistan), whose will stipulated that his entire life savings would go towards the building of the temple.

[12][page needed] A portion of the construction budget was saved and used to build a greenhouse to study indigenous plants and flowers that would be appropriate for use on the site.

[16] Anyone may enter the Lotus Temple irrespective of religious background, gender, or other distinctions, as is the case with all Baháʼí Houses of Worship.

[16] The design for the House of Worship in New Delhi is inspired by the lotus flower and is composed of 27 free-standing marble-clad "petals" arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides.

[26] As is the case with other stone monuments, such as the Taj Mahal, the Lotus Temple is becoming discoloured due to air pollution in India.

[17] The Temple has received a wide range of attention in professional architectural, fine art, religious, governmental, and other venues.

By 2003, the Baháʼí World Centre Library had archived more than 500 publications which carried information on the Lotus Temple in the form of articles, interviews with the architect and write-ups extolling the structure.