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In addition to the main auditorium, with its record-breaking capacity, the conference center also contains a 900-seat theater and an underground 1,400-car parking structure.

A Public Accommodation

Unlike the temple and other fixtures of the faith that fill Temple Square in the block across the street, the conference center and all surrounding plaza and grounds are open to the public.

The design team, which includes Philadelphia-based Olin Partnership as landscape architect, chose to mold the enormous mass of the center into a kind of land form, a plateau on which to climb, stroll, linger and look out.

Every day, thousands of church members and visitors stream up and down the ramps, look down from the terraces and explore the features of the four-acre (1.6-hectare) park on the roof.

A series of strategic focal points and the accessible majesty of the facade invite crowds to the top to commune with the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains, the nearby dome of the state capitol building, and the skyline of Salt Lake City.

The entire composition resonates with ancient temple forms and cultures. It might be at home in a Near Eastern desert or in a Mesoamerican jungle. Design principal Robert Frasca worked with Philadelphia landscape architect Laurie Olin to shape the imposing mass and orchestrate a series of outdoor experiences on the site.

The expanse of reinforced concrete, sculpted and terraced into a base for water features and plantings, also brings to mind recent feats of engineering such as the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle.

The closely ranked and deeply recessed windows and the peristyle-like entrances bring plenty of filtered light into the public areas of the complex while reinforcing the monumentality of the building.

Building as Landform

Given the scale and complexity of the conference center and the need for contextual sensitivity, it would be practically impossible to produce a design that reads as a geometric whole.

Instead, the massing and directional features combine as a kind of monumental village, a city of God. The main auditorium is wedged into one corner of the block, while the opposite corner is eroded to accommodate a street-level open space and entrances to the complex.

The east and west sides of the conference center are designed to reflect the nearby mountain scenery, stepping down in a series of tiers planted with alpine trees and ground cover.

As part of the project, Olin and LDS senior landscape architect Mark Williams also worked with the city to daylight a long-buried creek that runs between the conference center and Temple Square.

One of the primary design goals for the center was to avoid overwhelming the temple and other buildings on the adjacent historic square. As if directing the ebb and flow of the daily crowds, a tower at the edge of the mesa and at the center of the south side of the block acts as a landmark, a focal point, and a beacon of light.

The tower's assertive verticality and diminutive size, in relation to the entire building, serves to emphasize the mass of the conference center as a land form, while minimizing its overall architectural presence.

The theme of the project is "Light and Truth," says Gray. There are no specific metaphors in the elements of the building or landscape, he adds, but rather a "powerful geometry that allowed us to produce a focus on the temple."

The tower, lined up with a water feature cutting down through the facade below and a pair of gate-like beacons at the edge of the street, are all on axis with a wide walkway that runs through the center of Temple Square, between the temple itself and the Mormon Tabernacle and assembly building.

Directly across from the temple entrance is the main entrance to the conference center, projecting out from the building in a kind of portico consistent with the recessed windows in the structure.

The focal points and well marked approaches to the conference center and roof park serve to emphasize the primacy of the fixtures on Temple Square, while organizing the expanse of the conference center facade.

The entire block now functions as a city park. Church and city collaborated to make it a public amenity and an attractive destination. From its various promontories, visitors take in the sweeping views.

Gray is looking forward to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, confident that the conference center will have a role to play.

Fulfilling a 150-Year-Old Ambition

Brigham Young himself, who led the Mormons to the Utah Territory in the middle of the 19th century, laid out the large blocks and wide streets of the city, which is also the state capitol. Temple Square is ground zero of the street numeration for Salt Lake City.

The temple is the work of Truman Angel, the first church architect. He was sent by Brigham Young to Europe and was impressed by Saint Peter's in Rome and by the work of Christopher Wren.

Gray, who has had a hand in the design of many recent temples, once had a practice in Portland and was an admirer of Pietro Belluschi, who also influenced the work of Frasca.

According to Gray, the conference center was first discussed in 1861. Brigham Young wanted an assembly hall that would seat 20,000. But the engineers of his time could not deliver at that scale.

Instead, in 1867, the church got the present tabernacle, which seats 6,000, and that has been the limit on seating until now. Twenty-one-thousand-seat, oval shaped arenas are not uncommon. But arranging this many seats in a fan-shaped configuration with a single focal point, centered on a speaker at the pulpit, is unique in the world.

The structure is designed to last at least the next 150 years. The panels of granite that cover the exterior were cut from the earth near the source of the granite used during the 40-year construction of the temple.

An Engineering Marvel

Yet the new facility accommodates the latest technology for acoustics, lighting, theatrical systems, telecommunications, broadcast audio-visual, and security. In the last century, structural and electrical engineering have caught up with the visions of Brigham Young.

Dramatic performance is close to the heart of Mormon culture. Prophetic speech-making, elaborate pageants that reenact scripture, and educational activities involving whole congregations and different levels of church hierarchy are all part of LDS life. In keeping with this tradition, the entire conference building is a stage.

The total area in the conference center is 1.2 million square feet, (108,000 square meters) with interior volume of 9.43 million cubic feet (267,000 cubic meters).

The terraced roof of the new conference center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, designed by the Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership. Photo: Timothy Hursley The new conference center occupies most of a 10-acre (4-hectare) block in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. Photo: Timothy Hursley One sweeping auditorium of unprecedented size holds 21,000. Photo: Timothy Hursley Sharing the huge rostrum is seating for the 158-member General Authorities and the 352-voice Mormon Tabernacle Choir, all backed by a 125-rank pipe organ. Photo: Timothy Hursley The public circulation areas have a neo-Georgian grace, like a government building. Photo: Timothy Hursley The hallways are filled with abundant natural light. Photo: Timothy Hursley Stone busts of former presidents line up along the outer wall. Photo: Timothy Hursley The conference center as seen from Temple Square. Photo: Timothy Hursley   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.