Rendering: Erick Leininger & Kevin Rorabaugh
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Philadelphia Temple
Comprehensive lighting design services for the first Latter-Day Saints temple in Pennsylvania.
- Type: Religious, Landscape, Garage, Professional Work
- Date: Fall 2011 - Summer 2013
- Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA| Logan Square District
- Size: 53,000 sf (5,000 sqm) interior | 140,000 sf (13,000 sqm) underground garage & services building| 1.6 acre (0.7 ha) site
- Role: Lighting Designer
- Team: Helen Diemer (Principal), Emad Hasan (Project Manager), Ryan Conover (Lighting Designer)
The lighting design seeks to highlight the dual contemporary & classical natures of the new Philadelphia Mormon Temple. Logan Circle is home to numerous historical civic monuments of Philadelphia. The new temple seeks to responsibly merge architecturally with this fabric both inside and out. The exterior lighting accentuates the classical features & form, though lighting these elements with cutting-edge LED uplights defies the conventional play of shadow in the classical orders. The interiors feature intricate and traditional chandelier lighting in addition to discrete recesses and coves. However, the utilization of LED lamping as well as comprehensive dimming controls increases the efficiency of the project beyond current standards. The project was completed and dedicated in Fall 2016.
My responsibilities consisted of taking concepts generated by the design team and performing research, calculations, analysis, control system configuration, and documentation to achieve the goals. This included coordination and input from the architectural and interior design team members to understand the intent, finish qualities, and uses of the specific ceremonial rooms within the temple. As the most sacred space for the Latter-Day Saints church, the temple required design and construction to a high level of precision with the lighting a seamless part of each space. Most rooms included perimeter uplit coves requiring extensive coordination, as depth and proportions of the molded coves vary based on the dimensions of each room.
Design Process Calculations
Calculation Rendering of Main Entrance
Calculation Rendering of Interior Celestial Dome
Construction Progress
Completed Building Exterior
Exterior Sketches of Completed Temple
Interior Sketch of Celestial Room during Open House
Interior sketch of Baptismal Font during Open House. Once the temple is dedicated by the Latter Day Saints church, it is thenclosed to the public indefinitely.