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Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Synagogue
Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Synagogue
Evanston, IL, United States
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Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation Synagogue
Evanston, IL, United States
The
new LEED Platinum certified synagogue for the Jewish Reconstructionist
Congregation replaces the old building at the edge of a residential area,
across from a city park and the tracks of the Skokie Swift commuter train. The
design balances the limitations of a small site with an ambitious program that
uniformly promotes its worship, educational, and community objectives.
The
synagogue’s design reflects the vision and goals of the congregation. The
design criteria was developed through goal setting workshops with the JRC board
and building committee. The consensus opinion was that the building should
symbolically reflect the values of Judaism and Reconstructionism.
Some of the specific goals included the following:
•Warm
and inviting building
•Spiritual
space
•Connection
to the natural environment
•Good
flow of spaces
•Fully
accessible facility
•Child
safe and friendly environment
•Meditative
and small social spaces
•Inwardly
focused and outwardly reflective facility
Evanston’s
zoning ordinance, limiting building height and lot coverage, impacted the final
building program and design solution.
The congregation originally identified 42,000 square feet of dedicated
space to serve their needs. The design
met these needs in 31,600 square feet of flexible and convertible space. The use of spaces from week to week, hour to
hour, were traced over the building levels to find the best balance of all
needs. The
project demolished the existing 21,400 square foot synagogue and constructed a
new 31,600 square foot facility on the same site. The new building has three floors containing
the Congregation’s offices, early childhood program, and chapel on the first
floor; their education offices, classrooms and library on the second floor; and
the sanctuary, social hall and kitchen on the third floor. The
new facility includes spaces for worship and social events, as well as
classrooms for Early Childhood, Religious, and Adult Education programs. The
building includes space for the Congregation’s staff, a large teaching kitchen,
the youth group, arts and crafts, and library with a media center and language
laboratory. Organized
to create communal spaces, the design reflects the Congregation’s character of
a multigenerational group for whom the building is home.Several
ideas were formulated to make a sustainable transition from old to new. The new building is built on the foundations
of the old. Local demolition rubble is
placed in wire cages to create “gabion” walls to retain the edges of gardens
and children’s playgrounds. The memorial trees that shade the existing building
were cut down and reconstituted as paneling on the Ceremonial door in order to
preserve the memory of those associated with their planting and care. The
Congregation has placed, throughout the building, their collected words –
lyrics, testaments, calls for protest – to be added to and to be enshrined in
the building as a permanent testament of the Congregation’s work. Art has been commissioned to contain the
Torah scrolls and other ceremonial features.
new LEED Platinum certified synagogue for the Jewish Reconstructionist
Congregation replaces the old building at the edge of a residential area,
across from a city park and the tracks of the Skokie Swift commuter train. The
design balances the limitations of a small site with an ambitious program that
uniformly promotes its worship, educational, and community objectives.
The
synagogue’s design reflects the vision and goals of the congregation. The
design criteria was developed through goal setting workshops with the JRC board
and building committee. The consensus opinion was that the building should
symbolically reflect the values of Judaism and Reconstructionism.
Some of the specific goals included the following:
•Warm
and inviting building
•Spiritual
space
•Connection
to the natural environment
•Good
flow of spaces
•Fully
accessible facility
•Child
safe and friendly environment
•Meditative
and small social spaces
•Inwardly
focused and outwardly reflective facility
Evanston’s
zoning ordinance, limiting building height and lot coverage, impacted the final
building program and design solution.
The congregation originally identified 42,000 square feet of dedicated
space to serve their needs. The design
met these needs in 31,600 square feet of flexible and convertible space. The use of spaces from week to week, hour to
hour, were traced over the building levels to find the best balance of all
needs. The
project demolished the existing 21,400 square foot synagogue and constructed a
new 31,600 square foot facility on the same site. The new building has three floors containing
the Congregation’s offices, early childhood program, and chapel on the first
floor; their education offices, classrooms and library on the second floor; and
the sanctuary, social hall and kitchen on the third floor. The
new facility includes spaces for worship and social events, as well as
classrooms for Early Childhood, Religious, and Adult Education programs. The
building includes space for the Congregation’s staff, a large teaching kitchen,
the youth group, arts and crafts, and library with a media center and language
laboratory. Organized
to create communal spaces, the design reflects the Congregation’s character of
a multigenerational group for whom the building is home.Several
ideas were formulated to make a sustainable transition from old to new. The new building is built on the foundations
of the old. Local demolition rubble is
placed in wire cages to create “gabion” walls to retain the edges of gardens
and children’s playgrounds. The memorial trees that shade the existing building
were cut down and reconstituted as paneling on the Ceremonial door in order to
preserve the memory of those associated with their planting and care. The
Congregation has placed, throughout the building, their collected words –
lyrics, testaments, calls for protest – to be added to and to be enshrined in
the building as a permanent testament of the Congregation’s work. Art has been commissioned to contain the
Torah scrolls and other ceremonial features.
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