The New Two-Spire Temple Style

I love seeing the new renderings for temples planned to be built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  This week the press leaked the rendering of the Payson Utah Temple (the church confirmed that this is indeed the temple rendering, but that it wasn't supposed to be released until next month).  The church also broke ground on the Trujillo Peru Temple and Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple this week.  Pictures can be seen here, or later in this post for Philadelphia.

The Payson Temple looks like it may be a modified version of the Draper Utah and Gilbert Arizona Temples, but it could be unique.  The Trujillo Peru Temple is clearly the same style as the Cordoba Argentina and Phoenix Arizona Temples.  Then there is the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple which is one of the new two-spire style temples along with the Kansas City Missouri Temple, Brigham City Utah Temple, Rome Italy Temple and at least one other temple that hasn't had its design publicly revealed.  As a refresher, here are renderings of these 4 temples:

Kansas City Missouri Temple Rendering

Brigham City Utah Temple Rendering

Rome Italy Temple Rendering

Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple Rendering

The main element that ties all of these temples together is the use of two spires to represent the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods.  Many Latter-day Saint temples have used either two spires, or two sets of three spires to represent the Priesthoods.  It is nice to see this symbolism returning to temples.

I think this new style of temple is distinctly Latter-day Saint and iconic.  These temples are taller with 3-4 stories in addition to a basement.  Their shape accentuates their height, as do the twin spires.  I like the vertical soaring nature of these temples.  The first two make good use of detailed architectural precast concrete while Rome and Philadelphia appear to use stone.  Either way, the detailing is done well.

I like how the Kansas City Missouri Temple and Rome Italy Temple are both modern.  Rome seems more modern with its numerous curves, sleek design, and cutaway spire.  I think this was a good choice as Rome is so overwhelmed with classical and other architecture that it would have been difficult for the temple to stand out (in a good way) and not look contrived with classical or neoclassical architecture.  The Kansas City Temple, on the other hand, has a modern and somewhat simple exterior, but uses traditional pyramidal spires in addition to arches to visually link it to the Salt Lake and other pioneer temples.  This is fitting as it is being built where a lot of early church history occurred.

The Brigham City Utah Temple is obviously meant to look like a pioneer style temple.  The church has stated that it is a mix between the Salt Lake Temple, St. George Temple, Logan Temple, and Manti Temple.  This helps it fit in with the Box Elder Tabernacle across the street and with the history of the area.  At the same time, if you look at the temple closely you'll notice that it is a modern interpretation of the pioneer style.  Precast concrete is used.  Also, the way the spires taper, concrete details are recessed, and other elements of the building are shaped, are very modern.  Crenelations have been replaced by recessed triangles in the concrete panels.  The buttressing, although present, is somewhat subdued.  So I see the Brigham City Temple as a successful blend of the historic pioneer style temples and present day architecture.

The Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple is now the most classical (really neo-classical) of these temples (or any for that matter).  It looks like it could easily be 200 years old, and not like a modern take on a 200 year old building.  This appears to be intentional.  It helps the temple fit in a very historical city.  In the rendering you can see that the temple borrows elements from the building across the street (I think a court building).  It will also fit in with a nearby Catholic cathedral and other architecture in the area.  The spires should seem familiar.  They definitely fit in with spires in the city.  I can see that the architects have obviously borrowed elements from the spire of Independence Hall, also in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were written and signed and where the Liberty Bell once hung.

I love the fine details of the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple, and look forward to seeing them in more detail.  I love the fluted columns with Corinthian capitals (I hope they are unique capitals).  I like the mixture or rectangular and cylindrical columns and the clustering of columns at the front.  The window variety is also interesting.  I particularly like the elliptical windows along the fourth level.  There are other details such as the short parapet railing running along the roof line and repeated at two heights on each tower.    I also like the floral bunches (would you call this a wreath or a garland or something else?) on the towers and look forward to seeing what types of flowers are put into them.  I also look forward to seeing the fine details on the cornice.

I also like the large details of the temple.  The corners of the building have a weightier look that makes the building appear strong while at the same time making the center windows seem even more open and beautiful.  The first level is also made of massive blocks which gives it a weighty look.  This is a good architectural trick to give balance to an exterior and makes the temple look enduring.  The soaring spires, combined with the 4 stories and somewhat slender proportions, make the temple appear tall and grand in a great way.

I love the symbolism of this temple with its two spires based on Independence Hall.  This is fitting as Pennsylvania is where the U.S. government was set up with the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution which we believe to be inspired by God.  The spires represent the priesthoods and remind us that Pennsylvania is also where the government of God, the priesthood, was restored to the earth in 1829.  The Aaronic Priesthood and the Melchizedek Priesthood were restored to the earth by John the Baptist and Peter, James and John respectively near Harmony Pennsylvania.

The whole interior of this temple should be interesting.  The Manhattan New York Temple's interior would fit the exterior architecture perfectly.  It borrowed the neoclassical elements from the Salt Lake Temple.  I would be happy if the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple also borrowed interior elements from the Salt Lake Temple.  The murals could also show the area around Harmony, Pennsylvania where the priesthoods were restored and where Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were baptized.  Depictions of the priesthood restorations and baptisms would be great in murals.  Much of the translation of The Book of Mormon also happened in this state and should at least show up in a painting.  Also, the Founding Fathers who met at Independence Hall appeared in the St. George Utah Temple to have their temple work done.  I would add a picture of that event somewhere in the temple.

I really like the new two-spire temple style and hope that the church uses it for a while.  I think it is the best style in a long time.  Please comment and let us know what you think about this style of temple, the individual temples, or anything else in this post.

Distinctively "Mormon" Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temples

While researching about the Cardston Alberta Canada Temple I cam across this article.  In it, the author praises the Cardston Temple as his favorite temple; however, he adds this statement:

Despite my Prairie-School love, I am not even completely comfortable with the Cardston temple. After all, it is a fine work derivative of a larger tradition. Its primary aesthetic is not distinctively Mormon.                                   (emphasis added)

 This made me think about what is distinctively Mormon architecture and what temples meet this criteria.  I want to note that the term "Mormon" is slang for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members. Latter-day Saint is a term for the members and I will use that term from here on. Let me be clear from the start, I don't think a temple has to have distinctively Latter-day Saint architecture to be a good temple or great architecture.  Some of my favorite temples are in styles common to the rest of the world.  We are supposed to take what is good in the world and apply it to us.  At the same time, using architecture that is distinctively Latter-day Saint has great benefits.  It allows a temple to be recognized as a temple, and not just by using an Angel Moroni statue.  Distinctively Latter-day Saint architecture also is usually filled with symbolism.  Also, our architecture was often a conglomeration of various styles brought by immigrants from around the world.  The resulting eclectic styles contained a history of the gospel going to all nations and of the gathering of Israel.

I'd like to see some discussion on what you think is distinctively Latter-day Saint temple architecture, how it has been used, and how it is being used in newer temples.  I'll begin the discussion by focusing on what I see as distinctively Latter-day Saint architecture.

Six Towered (or spired) Temples

While the interiors of the Kirtland, Nauvoo, and St. George Temples contained unique architecture, their exteriors borrowed heavily from architectural precedents and weren't really distinctly Latter-day Saint on a macro level.  The Logan (1884), Manti (1888), and Salt Lake Temples (1893) introduced the highly symbolic 6 tower style that I see as being distinctively Latter-day Saint.  This and the castellated style (also present in St. George) make these temples easily identified as Latter-day Saint, despite the fact that two of them lack statues of the Angel Moroni.  The towers represent the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods with 3 towers on each side.  The west three towers represent the Presiding Bishopric, or any bishopric in the church.  These are the leaders of the Aaronic Priesthood.  The east towers represent the First Presidency of the church, the leaders of the Melchizedek Priesthood.  Priesthood is an important principle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is inseparably connected with the temple and is woven firmly into the ordinances of the temple,

Visually, the six tower architectural style makes these temples look unlike any other religious buildings I know of.  Chapels and cathedrals throughout Christendom use single spires and sometimes two spires on one end.  The six spire architecture used in Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temples is a unique style.

The Washington D.C. Temple (1974) was built to visually echo the iconic Salt Lake Temple's architecture.  One way it accomplished this was through the use of six towers (three on each side).  Even though the Washington D.C. Temple is very modern and sleek in its design, I think it is also distinctively Latter-day Saint in its architecture.  It is a successful fusion of styles that keeps the priesthood symbolism intact on the macro scale.

In the 1980s the church began to build numerous six towered temples.  These are often referred to as the six spire sloped roof temples (or sometimes derogatorily as the six spire meetinghouse temples).  I personally really like this style and think it succeeds in being uniquely Latter-day Saint.  The following temples used this style:

Boise Idaho Temple (1984)

Manila Philippines Temple (1984)

Dallas Texas Temple (1984)

Taipei Taiwan Temple (1984)

Guatemala City Guatemala Temple (1984)

Stockholm Sweden Temple (1985)

Chicago Illinois Temple (1985)

Johannesburg South Africa Temple (1985)

Seoul Korea Temple (1985)

Lima Peru Temple (1986)

Buenos Aires Argentina Temple (1986)

*Frankfurt Germany Temple (1987)

I have placed an asterisk next to the Frankfurt Germany Temple because it uses the same style, but actually only has one spire.  Two other temples look similar the these temples with six spires.  These temples used a different, larger floor plan and have a lot more detail on the spires, use sun, moon, star, and earth stones, etc.  These are the:

Portland Oregon Temple (1989)

Las Vegas Nevada Temple (1989)

Each of these temples from Boise to Las Vegas has architecture the looks distinctively Latter-day Saint to me.  The multiple spires and their symbolic arrangement sets these buildings apart from other religious buildings in the world as LDS Temples.  I have been to the grounds of the Boise Temple and have attended the Dallas, Portland, and Las Vegas Temples.  I like how each is, although the Portland and Las Vegas Temples excel in their internal architecture.  I like the interior of the Dallas Temple as well, but it isn't as well executed., mainly due to a necessary addition.  That and the endowment room seats have a hideous pattern on them, in my opinion.

I've heard and read that the church has tried to build temples with six spires since the 1980s but has been unsuccessful, mainly due to protests from neighbors and burdensome local building codes and planning committees.  This is unfortunate because using six spires is a way that LDS Temples display their identity and symbolically teach important principles through sacred architecture.  The Brigham City Utah Temple  (currently under construction) was the first temple in a long time to have six towers (counting the corner spire-less towers)

The Brigham City Utah Temple

Two Towered Temples

The San Diego California Temple (1993) has two main towers (although additional towers bring the total to 10) and the Vernal Utah Temple, (1997) created by extensively remodeling the Uintah Stake Tabernacle, also has two towers.  In the last few years, the church has begun building more two towered temples.  This is a creative way to symbolically represent the priesthood, while using only two towers.  These temples echo the Logan and Manti Temples which had six towers, but only two prominent ones.  Several Temples use this style, including the aforementioned Brigham City Temple which actually has six towers.  Currently, the church is building the Kansas City Missouri Temple and Rome Italy Temple using two towers,  It has been reported that the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple will have two towers.  Other temple(s) now in the planning stages also use the two tower style.  I really like these styles.  The two towered style brings symbolism and strength to the temples.  It also looks distinctively uniquely Latter-day Saint to me.  I think this is especially helped by keeping the towers on opposite ends of the temples.

Kansas City Missouri Temple

Rome Italy Temple

Having either six towered or two towered temples is one way I think our temples become distinctively Latter-day Saint.  They look different from other architecture on the macro level, even while borrowing from many types of common architecture.  I hope the church continues to build two towered temples and I also hope that we resume building six towered temples as well.

I've only covered a small part of what I think is distinctively Latter-day Saint temple architecture.  Please comment and let us know what you see as being distinctively Latter-day Saint architecture and how it is - or can be - applied to temples.

Kansas City Temple design

I recently found an architectural rendering of the Kansas City Missouri Temple on ldschurchtemples.com (a wonderful site). The picture was just removed from the site today for some reason, but you can probably find it elsewhere.

The temple design showed a two towered (2 steeple) structure. I was very happy to see this. A lot of temples have the East side represent the Melchizedek Priesthood and the West side represent the Aaronic Priesthood. The Salt Lake Temple started this pattern, having 3 towers on the East and 3 on the West. Logan and Manti look like they have 2 towers (technically they have 2 smaller towers with staircases on either side of each main tower). The San Diego California Temple was the next two ended temple (technically 10 towered, but there are two main towers with 4 smaller towers around each main tower). Then the Vernal Utah Temple was made with 2 towers (I believe the original tabernacle the temple was made from had the two towers).

Recently the church has been building temples with a tower on one side and a small dome on the other end. I have thought that they should just add a second tower. I know building codes don't always allow two spires, but when possible, why not? I think two towers make a temple seem like a special building, not just a fancy church. It adds to the uniqueness of the architecture and adds symbolism.

The KC Temple design isn't perfect, but I like it. It reminds me of the Logan temple in several ways, with the 2 towers being the main one. I look forward to having it built