Reposted from the J. Willard Marriott Library Blog.
The Salt Lake Temple renovation and seismic retrofit project has been called the most complex project ever undertaken by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Georges A. Bonnet is part of the project management team heading it. At the upcoming William R. and Erlyn J. Gould Distinguished Lecture on Technology and the Quality of Life, Bonnet will share what has gone into the core work of the renovation of the historic temple, while also giving a history as a whole and sharing progress pictures.
The renovation project was announced in April 2019 during a press conference by Russell M. Nelson, the then-president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and started later that year. Construction continued through the years despite COVID-19 setbacks and earthquake damage in 2020. The project reached its halfway point in 2023 and is set to be ready for an open house starting in April 2027.
“The engineering, technology and planning for this incredible renovation on a beloved and historic building makes Bonnet a great choice for the Gould Lecture,” explained Sarah Shreeves, Alice Sheets Marriott Dean of Libraries. “I think that everyone will be interested in the intricacies of this soon-to-be-finished project, and I’m greatly looking forward to the lecture.
Event details
William R. and Erlyn J. Gould Distinguished Lecture on Technology and the Quality of Life
The Salt Lake Temple Renovation Project
Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026 | 4-5 p.m.
J. Willard Marriott Library, Gould Auditorium, Level 1
Free and open to the public.
Directions and parking
About Georges A. Bonnet
Georges A. Bonnet has been involved in several construction projects all around the world, including a liquefied natural gas receiving terminal in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the Tahiti Temple and their meetinghouse construction program. He has served as the physical facilities manager for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Western and Eastern Europe, the UK and African countries. Since August of 2019, he has been part of the project management team of the Salt Lake Temple renovation project. Bonnet was born in Germany and has a B.S. in Construction Engineering from Arizona State University.
About the Gould Lecture
The William R. and Erlyn J. Gould Distinguished Lecture on Technology and the Quality of Life was inaugurated Oct. 7, 1992, at the University of Utah Marriott Library. The lecture series is intended to provide a forum for the discussion of problems, issues, experiences and successful case histories of the regeneration and preservation of our communities through the application of modern technology.