The Modern Traditional Draper Temple

I braved the unhealthy polluted Utah air this evening to visit the Draper Temple as part of the public open house. It was very well organized and not too crowded, which was enjoyable. The Temple is quite small in its footprint - very compact, but grand in its height, which seems especially appropriate nestled against the backdrop of mountains. These vertical and narrow proportions, a nice modern touch, were reflected in all the exterior massing and even in the Celestial room of the temple. This verticality was especially well represented in the windows and doors, giving us a strong and clear statement of the overall design with crisp rectangular shapes repeated at various scales.



Unfortunately this beautiful statement was in no way reflected in the other interior detailing and ornamentation of the temple. The coffered ceilings, gold leafing, rounding chandeliers, trim moulding pieces and decorative paneling all felt forced, as though from an entirely different building than that of the strong exterior massing, vertical proportionality, and window/door treatment previously described. In other words, based on the exterior, I would have expected a completely different interior, in both the shaping of space with ceilings and stairs down to the smallest details.



This unusual mixing of modern and traditional elements throughout the building left me in a limbo of sorts. The Draper temple says to me that it remains fully entrenched in tradition and the past, outwardly wants to be accepted and current, but is unsure of how these two can or should blend together. Clearly the past is important to us, and always will be, but at the same time we feel the need to move on as a people into the future of a new world. We have a foot in the past and a foot in the future, and both are pulling in opposite directions. So how does tradition co-exist with progress and change? The answer to this question based on the Draper temple could be summed up as 'awkwardly' or 'in a forced manner', which ends up being a reflection of our culture and the message we are sharing with the world.

Interestingly enough, after the tour, I was directed to the adjacent cultural hall where refreshments and formal presentations were set up. All the exhibits around the room were designed in a traditional manner with various shades of warm browns and crown mouldings except for the first, which utilized task lighting, glass panels, sleek metal frames, and a cool bright blue color palette. It was one of the most modern exhibits I have seen in an LDS church building, and like the temple just toured, stood out as inappropriately as the ornamentation did in an otherwise modern temple.

Successfully answering the question of how tradition should co-exist with modernity - in built form - can and will give us greater clarity into who we are as a people, where we are heading in the future, and I believe will ultimately lead people closer to our Creator.


Draper Utah Temple, Window by Altus Photo Design