Independence, Missouri

Independence Temple

Independence Temple is one of the first architectural icons produced in the Kansas City region with Zahner engineering and fabrication. Located in Independence, Missouri, the building was built in 1994. At the time of construction, it was the RLDS Temple, and later was renamed Independence Temple. The shape of the design evokes the form of a spiral nautilus shell. Gyo Obata of HOK asked Zahner to develop a conical roof based on a conch shell that he had selected from a large collection of seashells during a design meeting. This form was developed with Zahner engineers into a roof system for the new church headquarters.