News Brief

Illinois Synagogue Earns LEED Platinum

by Allyson Wendt

The synagogue for the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Illinois, earned a LEED Platinum rating. The building features several large, flexible spaces that help keep the overall building footprint small.

Photo: Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing Photography
When the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Illinois, decided in 2003 to build a new synagogue, it resolved to build a green structure that could achieve a high level of LEED certification.

The 31,000-ft2 (2,900-m2) building, designed by Ross Barney Architects and completed in February 2008, has now earned a Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, earning 53 out of 69 possible points. Designed to use 45% less energy than a conventional building, the synagogue features high-efficiency mechanical equipment, daylighting, occupancy sensors for lighting, and other energy-saving features. Dual-flush toilets and low-flow plumbing fixtures conserve water, and 50% of the wood used in the building was salvaged or certified to Forest Stewardship Council standards.

More information is available at www.jrc-evanston.org/green_synagogue/.

Published November 24, 2008

Wendt, A. (2008, November 24). Illinois Synagogue Earns LEED Platinum. Retrieved from https://www.buildinggreen.com/newsbrief/illinois-synagogue-earns-leed-platinum

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