It only makes sense that an organization dedicated to parks should try its hardest to be environmentally responsible. In southwest suburban Plainfield, the park district has opened a new Net Zero community building.

PARC (Courtesy of Wight & Company)

It’s called PARC, which stands for Prairie Activity and Recreation Center, and is located in a park: Gregory B. Bott Park. The facility sports an oversized gymnasium, a fitness center, a multi-purpose room, and a preschool with four classrooms. Chicago’s Wight & Company designed the building so that it can be expanded with an aquatics center.

PARC (Courtesy of Wight & Company)

Environmental terms seem to change every time a leaf falls, so it’s OK if you can’t tell your Carbon Trust from your QSAS. This building is Net Zero, which means that over the course of a year, the building creates more energy than it uses. That helps earn it Passive House Institute US PHIUS+ Source Zero certification.