The Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation synagogue is a beautiful building on 303 Dodge Avenue in Evanston, Illinois.  The Chicago Tribune reports that it’s "believed to be the first synagogue designed to achieve the highest level — platinum — in the [USGBC's LEED] rating system."  That’s probably true.  The  JRC board of directors mandated LEED Platinum certification, but my search of LEED Certified projects does not list the JRC synagogue yet.  Nevertheless, it’s a fine example of green architecture in the religious building context, which is something we don’t see too often. 

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Recently, I saw this article about Howcast and was quite intrigued by the startup company.  Howcast is run by ex-Googlers with the intent of becoming the YouTube of instructional videos.  It’s a good idea, I think.  After reading the article, I thought, it’d be nice to see videos on eco-friendly home renovations.  Green kitchen rehabs.  Eco-friendly landscaping.  Do it yourself energy audits.  Etc.  Well, Howcast is already publishing some good green living and environmental instructional videos.  You’ll find the videos helpful in that they tell you what you need, provide printable instructions, and allow you to skip to different steps in the video.  Here are a couple others. 

++How to Reduce Your Home Heating Costs
++How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

I’m seriously loving the Rapson Greenbelt here by Wieler.  Wieler was founded by the owner of the Original Dwell Home and offers a nice selection of prefab designs for the modern, green home enthusiast.  Speaking of the Rapson Greenbelt, Inhabitat reports: "Modernist architect Ralph Rapson has managed to reinterpret this 60-year old design with the green panache of a 21st century prefab.  The Rapson Greenbelt, an articulate series of prefab dwellings, is derived from a 1945 design called Case Study #4, which debuted back then as part of Arts & Architecture’s Case Study House Program.  Today, the Rapson Greenbelt is part of the modern home portfolio from WIELER, the award-winning providers of custom prefab homes."

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Just last week, Chicago architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill was chosen to design the world's first positive energy, mixed-use building for the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city called Masdar.  As a "positive energy" building, the design aims to generate more energy each day than it consumes.  The 1.4 million sf headquarters shown above will serve as the centerpiece of Masdar City, which will end up being about a $22 billion development in Abu Dhabi.

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• How green is my realtor?
• Eco-Paradox: green homes, gas-guzzling commutes. 
• LA ready on new green building standards.
• China’s green race against urban surge. 
• Neighbors clash over trees and solar power. 
• Who’s been densified and who hasn’t – equal density.

*WIR = Week in Review; a Saturday showcase of excellent links.