Architect John Brogan reflects on a lifetime of faith, history and design

For architect John Murray Brogan, the story of the Sydney Baha’i House of Worship is deeply personal.  

The son of architect John Richard Brogan, architect of the Ingleside Temple which was constructed in the 1950s and opened in 1961, John Murray Brogan grew up around drawings, construction sites, and conversations about proportion, structure and beauty.  

Alongside these memories, however, another impression remained with him: the spirit of the Baha’i community itself. 

In a newly released short film titled Coming Home – John Brogan’s story of Architecture and Faith, John reflects on the sequence of events that led him to a new understanding of the interconnections between his pursuits and his meditations on life. 

“I describe it best by saying I think that the Baha’is lived their faith,” he shares in the film. “I was not used to that.” 

The documentary is filmed at John’s home in Coasters Retreat. Filmmaker Armin Awan, who produced the film, remarked that “John is so humble, so graceful. I was taken aback by how tender and perceptive his heart is.” Reflecting on what he learned, Armin says that “it was so interesting that John has found unity across many different faiths across time using an architectural lens. It gave me a new perception of the unity of religion.” 

The Baha’i House of Worship has recently entered the construction phase of the ‘Dayspring of Light’ project, to restore, repair and beautify the Temple and its surrounds. This will be the first time substantive construction work has been undertaken on the Baha’i House of Worship since the project’s construction was overseen by John and his father. 

“It was an amazing feat. It really was,” John says. “We will always underestimate what the people did back then.”