Unity Temple

Oak Park's Unity Temple: Preservation Meets Green Innovation

Oak Park's Unity Temple: Preservation Meets Green Innovation

Since Unity Temple’s latest renovation in 2017, led by Harboe Architects, a plethora of modern features, many cleverly hidden from view in columns or ductwork, have coexisted with historic elements. Moreover, a lot of the newfangled improvements—a geothermal heating/cooling system, energy-saving LED lights, upgraded skylights, motion sensors—might even qualify the Temple as a certifiable green structure. Thanks to the geothermal apparatus' connection with the moderate temperatures of the earth, the building is air-conditioned for the first time in its history.