It was my first spot to bring my family to. A new look for a beloved and enduring portion of Temple Square of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I would come here to pray a lot.

What they've done with it now, it's so vibrant. It's just alive. It’s just as peaceful. Christian Morelos was so impressed that he brought his nieces and nephew visiting from Bolivia to experience its serenity and beauty.

I feel happy, and it's a new memory.

Born out of divine revelation, expert design, and skilled trades.

President Nelson highlighted that he saw in vision the nations of the world coming to this area.

Now, fulfillment of that vision—

a center of Christianity inclusive of all nations. To come and have an experience like the prophet envisioned, for them to feel that this is a really a sacred place, that’s our goal. Flag rotation every three months ensures the 91 flagpoles fly

all nations of the world, welcome all peoples of the world. It brings us that reminder that the Savior is the Savior of the world, and that His Church is a church for all.

The finished look of the Church Office Building Plaza, and the adjoining Main Street Plaza,

originated from a necessity to repair the leaking ’70s era membrane covering the top decks. The main purpose was to waterproof the entire roof of the parking garage. The landscape of the two plazas was cleared down to the concrete. In the process, workers discovered the decking itself was in need of repair.

We found that a lot of the concrete was delaminated, meaning that it wasn't structurally sound anymore. Repairing the damaged concrete by hand put the project's completion date in jeopardy.

Looking for solutions, Shingleton and his crew came across a video featuring a special tool located halfway around the globe that could get the project back on schedule. We were able to work through our industry partners and find a robot to do the majority of that repair work that saved us over a year of time. With the concrete repairs and waterproofing completed, radiant heating was installed, an option not available during original construction decades ago.

Right on the corner.

Every time it snows, it gets to a certain temperature, that radiant heating will automatically turn on and melt the snow immediately. The new snow melt system means no risk of mishaps with the meticulously fitted and installed stone from snow removal equipment. Stone that follows the most difficult of all patterns: the ellipse.

That ellipse is a beautiful feature, and whenever you see one, know that there’s a lot of care put into that from any

construction group and design team.

Constant and precise mathematical equations were checked and rechecked to achieve the required shape and overall esthetic in stone. There’s a total of about 75,000 square feet of pavers in this area, and 20 to 30,000 square feet of wall cladding.

The shape, placement, and height of each stone was thoughtfully considered with visitors in mind.

Almost every border wall around each individual garden is a height that would be comfortable to sit on, similar to what a bench would be.

We call them contemplative spaces to enjoy the landscape and to have reverent experiences here.

Another masonry challenge: finding the perfect monument stone, which turned out to be a single three-ton piece hewn from the same rock quarry as the granite walls of the Salt Lake Temple. They were able to find a stone that fit the exact dimensions that they wanted.

Engraved on the monument stone, an apropos prophecy from the Old Testament's Book of Isaiah.

These huge blocks of geofoam, semi truckloads full,

were crucial to the plaza's transformation, used to displace thousands of tons of dirt and planters and walkways, enabling the need of only a fraction of the amount of soil, sturdy enough to withstand the weight of small maintenance vehicles. But light enough to be able to be built on top of a parking garage. Once construction was complete, President Nelson's vision and the expertise of landscape designers began to take shape.

We were able to bring in more trees and utilize trees and other plant material to also improve the experience. One group of trees have a miraculous back story that took shape during the dark days of Covid.

We had an opportunity to find some trees in Oregon that essentially had been abandoned. The farm was within months of wanting to remove those trees and start over.

They now appear as majestic reminders of the Lord's hand in all things, even with forgotten trees.

We were led to that area, and we were able to see that those trees perfectly fit into the design that we had in mind here.

Inspired, beautiful, and serene, and now ready to receive the millions of people anticipated to visit

Temple Square in the coming years and decades.

It’s an oasis from the storms. A place to step away and feel peace and quiet,

to feel the presence of the Savior.