Religious | Historic Preservation

St. George Temple Historic Renovation

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | St. George, UT

The St. George temple is the oldest operating temple—since 1877—in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Originally built and crafted by Utah pioneers, an important restoration project to restore and upgrade the 142,000 SF building, was completed in 2023.

As the electrical engineering and lighting design consultant for the historic renovation design team, Envision provided electrical engineering design for complete electrical systems upgrades and lighting design throughout the building—all meticulously performed within the parameters of the historic building and site. In addition to the building, the scope of the renovation includes the entire temple block with new plazas and additional entryways, as well as demolition and replacement of the building annex upper level.

Since 2012, leading up to the award-winning renovation, Envision's previous involvement with the electrical systems for the temple building and site ranged from the electrical design of several small-scale remodels and the temple chiller building/electrical service upgrades to assisting with producing an extensive, complex BIM 3-D model of the temple. The 3-D model was produced by performing sophisticated scans of the building to locate and identify all existing utilities and create highly detailed as-built drawings which became the basis for the renovation design.

The main objective and challenge of the project was to remain true to the historic nature of the building yet install new electrical systems to meet current code. Unique historic elements included a building foundation constructed of volcanic rock and walls carved from sandstone (in some places three-feet thick). As an example of one of many "outside-of-the-box" solutions, Envision found the least invasive way to run wiring and cables was access through floor outlet boxes vs. wall outlets to avoid drilling into the sandstone walls whenever possible. Envision worked successfully to complete the electrical scope of work which included design of electrical power systems, telecommunications/radio, fire alarms, security systems, and acoustics.

Envision's lighting design also met the challenges presented by a historic project. We worked closely with the owner's historical expert to understand and incorporate “period correct” lighting. We carefully balanced the use of modern LED decorative fixtures with the look and ambience of a 146-year-old pioneer-age building—all while meeting current codes. Envision's sustainable design methods also achieved energy efficiency levels estimated to be approximately 10% below the project requirement thresholds.