By Rick Prohov
Oct. 26, Evanston City Council voted 8-1 in favor of an ordinance requiring large new commercial buildings to meet the LEED Silver standard of green building. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a comprehensive building rating and certification system maintained by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
The green building [...]

By Jessica Tobacman
Roosevelt University has begun plans for a new student center, incorporating a new eco-friendly edge into their design. The lobby of the university’s Auditorium Building currently houses a model that includes this structure and an artistic rendering of the institution’s new project. Located at 421 to 425 S. Wabash Ave., the Wabash Development [...]

Location
2916 W. 47th St., Chicago, IL 60632  Map
Owner
United Neighborhood Organization
Architect
Austin AECOM
Officer Donald Marquez Charter School is one of two green school renovations underway by the United Neighborhood Organiozation (UNO). This first project is housed in a former Misericordia home for disabled children in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood. The two & four story, 58,150 sf building [...]

Location
365 Raider Way, Bolingbrook, IL 60440  Map
Owner
Valley View Public School District 365U
Architect
Wight & Company
When it opened in 2004, the new Bolingbrook High School became the first LEED® certified high school in Illinois, and only the third in the entire country.  The 568,000 square foot facility, designed to accommodate 3,600 students, was completed on an expedited [...]

Location
339 E. Chicago, Chicago, IL 60611  Map
Owner
Northwestern University
Architect
SmithGroup
Wieboldt Hall is one of three original buildings built in 1926 on Northwestern’s downtown campus. This high-rise building is undergoing a 31,000 sf renovation to modernize mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and provide new classroom spaces and a new entry lobby to the School of Continuing Studies. A [...]

Location
3440 S. Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60616 Map
Owner
Wexford Equities
Architect
Cannon Design

Of the green buildings in Chicago I’ve covered so far, this may be the most low-key about its greenness. The developer’s website has no mention that the project has earned LEED®-CS precertification, which is remarkable considering that the intent of precertification is to boost marketing credibility. Of [...]