Symphony Center

220 S Michigan Ave, Chicago IL, 60604 Find on Google Maps

Chicago Building ID: 160197

Building Info

Square Footage: 294,211 sqft
#1 Largest of Performing Arts Buildings
Lower than 50% of all buildings
1.0x median
296,415 sqft
1.2x median Performing Arts
242,343 sqft
Built: 1997
Primary Property Type: Performing Arts
Community Area: Loop
Chicago Energy Rating: 3.0 / 4
Owner

Emissions & Energy Information

For 2020

Greenhouse Gas Intensity: 8.8 kg CO₂e / sqft
Higher than 63% of all buildings
1.1x median
7.7 kg CO₂e / sqft
1.0x median Performing Arts
8.8 kg CO₂e / sqft
Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions: 2,593.2 metric tons CO₂ eq.
#1 Highest of Performing Arts Buildings 🚨
Higher than 63% of all buildings
1.3x median
2,063.4 metric tons CO₂ eq.
1.0x median Performing Arts
2,536.9 metric tons CO₂ eq.
Source Energy Usage Intensity: 162.1 kBtu / sqft
Higher than 63% of all buildings
1.1x median
143.1 kBtu / sqft
1.0x median Performing Arts
162.1 kBtu / sqft
Site Energy Usage Intensity: 104.5 kBtu / sqft
#1 Lowest of Performing Arts Buildings 🏆
Higher than 73% of all buildings
1.3x median
81.9 kBtu / sqft
1.0x median Performing Arts
104.5 kBtu / sqft
Natural Gas Use: 14,470,909.4 kBtu
Higher than 58% of all buildings
1.2x median
12,367,856.3 kBtu
1.0x median Performing Arts
14,256,629 kBtu
Electricity Use: 9,351,104.7 kBtu
#1 Highest of Performing Arts Buildings 🚨
Higher than 54% of all buildings
1.1x median
8,755,592 kBtu
1.8x median Performing Arts
5,296,273.6 kBtu
District Chilled Water Use: 6,928,883.6 kBtu
0.7x median
9,674,280.5 kBtu

* Important Note: Rankings and medians are among included buildings, which are those who reported under the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance for the year 2020 with emissions greater than 1,000 metric tons.

Data Source: Chicago Energy Benchmarking Data Covered Buildings

What Should We Do About This?

Practically every building has room to improve with energy efficiency upgrades like insulation, switching to ENERGY STAR rated appliances, and more, but for any buildings with large natural gas use, we recommend one thing: electrify!

In other words, buildings should look to move all on-site uses of fossil fuels (including space heating, water heating, and cooking) to electrically powered systems like industrial grade heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and induction stoves. With Illinois' current electric supply, just using the same amount of energy from electricity, rather than natural gas (aka methane) will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is because Illinois' grid in 2020 was already 67% carbon-free (see Illinois - Power | DecarbMyState ). This has already been done across the country with a variety of buildings, large and small, like the Hotel Marcel .

You can help make this a reality by talking to building owners and letting them know that a building's emissions are important to you, and that you want to see their building become fully electric and stop emitting greenhouse gases. Particularly for buildings you have a financial stake in (like your university, work, condo building, or apartment building) your voice in concert with your fellow building users can have a huge impact.

Additional Resources

See some additional resources on improving energy efficiency and understanding this data: