Two contemporary buildings were recently added to the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Utah, in answer to the Church of Latter Day Saints’ missionary growth needs. The MTC has long been a busy educational facility, training local and global missionaries for the church.

Various Lumetta drums figure in key spaces of these buildings, specified by Glumac Portland, a major engineering and construction firm focused on sustainability. According to Jesse Smith, Lighting Studio Lead, students spend rigorous hours in the MTC environment vs. a traditional higher education facility. In conceptualizing the design, a lot of effort was made to provide less formal spaces for decompression. The goal is to bring a hospitality feel to the facility so that specific areas evoke a feeling of home and a sense of relaxation without sacrificing drama and elegance.

The Glumac design team applied a variety of architectural palette in each space. To help tie lighting in, different luminaire finishes were explored in each area. 

The buildings showcase drum shapes almost exclusively, with slight modifications to display narrow and tall and wide and short shapes. In the main meeting center, large, 6 ft. diameter drums not only match the scale of the rooms but also provide sufficient light for classroom use. Individual student teaching rooms use the smallest drums to give the students a different feel— that of being in a home.

Lightrix and Quantum Lighting worked with Lumetta on this project.

Architects & Engineers: ZGF Architects LLP, Glumac Portland, FFKR Architects & ECE- Electrical Consulting Engineers

Photography by Aaron Shaw, Endeavour Architectural Photography