A sacred space with a spiritual connection, inside and out

Temple Beth Elohim

Temple Beth Elohim’s new synagogue replaced an aging facility that its congregation had long since outgrown. The entire site was designed to be a place of worship, with the landscape providing additional venues for and connections to spirituality. Sacred exterior spaces that extend the physical and spiritual boundaries of the synagogue interior make the project come to life.

Our site design philosophy focused on creating a place reminiscent of Israel, one which takes advantage of the beautiful existing landscape features on site. A stone courtyard visually engages those within the sanctuary through the floor to ceiling windows and is nestled within the existing hillside and woodlands on site.

Jewish faith principles tying back to taking care of the environment guided us in making sustainability a key component of the design. Smart site planning and a reduced development area saved existing woodlands, shared parking reduced paved areas, and new raingardens and porous paving filter and recharge stormwater on site.

Today the new Temple Beth Elohim clearly conveys the Jewish belief in being partners with God, responsible for and respecting the environment.