Recently, the Temple was approved by city authorities, and a building permit was issued. These and other images were published in a local paper. See some others below:
Even the artwork is carefully planned and diagrammed.
These images point to some conclusions:
1. Temple plans cannot be easily altered. Some critics in cities where there is pushback to planned temples need to realize how carefully the space is planned. Their seemingly small (in their mind, at least) adjustments have massive implications given how temples function and what they need to do.
2. The flow of people in and out of the temple is carefully planned, much more so than most people think.
For example, in a visit to a small temple, we were instructed NOT to walk past a specific area of the temple in our temple clothes. The way back to the dressing room was much longer, but there are reasons for not viewing temple clothing from waiting areas where patrons who are not LDS may be gathered.
I tried to imagine how the traffic would flow in the Jacksonville temple. I'm impressed with how meticulous and careful it is given what I know.
3. Temple plans are detailed and meticulous. We've learned things over the years about what works and what doesn't. Newer models incorporate this learning. We aren't going to go back in time and design temples like we used to.
For example, I disliked the old Rock Canyon Provo Temple dressing rooms because I'm tall. The dressing stalls weren't high. I felt like I was dressing in front of the whole room. I usually asked for a more unobtrusive stall, and the temple workers accommodated me. At the then recently remodeled Jordan River Temple, the walls were higher. At a recently remodeled temple I visited, the stalls extended up to the ceiling.
4. Our needs are standardized. Being able to standardize our measurements and layouts prevents the time and costs of having everything custom-made, as one-of-a-kind structures often require.
We've been told that there are only a small number of actual temple layouts. The exterior is customized to the area a bit to fit into the aesthetics of the area.
We shouldn't have to alter our standard layouts. We need them. We shouldn't have to alter our plans to suit outsiders ideas of what we "need" and their own aesthetics.
The care and planning that goes into temples is astonishing, as these images attest.
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