A Clayton synagogue just won one of the world’s top architecture awards

Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-Chief

Published May 13, 2026

A synagogue renovation in Clayton has received one of the highest honors in religious architecture, placing a St. Louis project among a select group of internationally recognized sacred spaces. Kol Rinah was named a winner of the 2026 Faith & Form International Awards for Religious Architecture & Art, an annual competition that recognizes excellence and innovation in religious design around the world. The synagogue won in the category of Religious Architecture: Renovation.

The project, designed by Patterhn Ives, LLC, was selected from 75 entries submitted from nine countries. In all, 12 winners were named in a variety of design and renovation categories. Kol Rinah was one of 10 award winners from the United States, and Spain and Japan each had one honoree.

“We weren’t asking Patterhn Ives to design an award-winning building,” said Rabbi Noah Arnow of Kol Rinah. “We were asking them to work with us to design a building that would be our home for the next 50-plus years and bring together the values and images of our two legacy congregations (Brith Sholom Kneseth Israel and Shaare Zedek Synagogue).

“They did a beautiful job, and the building is serving us so well. The congregation is thriving, and every time someone walks into the building, they say, ‘This is so beautiful.’ The fact that it’s now getting local, national and international recognition is a tremendous credit to the vision, expertise and artistry of Patterhn Ives. They designed something that was not only what we needed, but also beautiful.”

Presented by Partners for Sacred Places, the awards honor projects that range from new religious buildings to historic restorations and adaptive reuse efforts. Organizers say this year’s winners reflect the changing role houses of worship play in modern civic life.

For Kol Rinah, judges cited a renovation that transformed the synagogue into a more flexible and welcoming space designed to accommodate both worship and broader community use. The redesign emphasized accessibility, adaptability and contemporary programming needs.

“These projects stand at the forefront of religious art and architecture,” Kevin Block, director of special initiatives for Partners for Sacred Places, said in announcing the awards. “They were shaped by professionals who understand design as an act of service — both to faith communities and also the wider social fabric these communities help to sustain.”

The recognition comes as many congregations nationwide are rethinking how religious buildings function in an era of changing membership patterns and financial pressures. Rather than constructing entirely new facilities, many faith communities are investing in renovations that preserve existing structures while adapting them for modern use.

Partners for Sacred Places noted that religious buildings increasingly serve as community infrastructure, housing not only worship services but also educational programs, meetings, social services and cultural events.

“This year’s entries represented a cross-section of place and spiritual connection and were significant for the remarkable solutions they offered their congregations,” said Joshua Zinder, chair of the award jury. He pointed to projects that addressed contemporary challenges through “adaptive reuse, historic restoration and thoughtful insertions that create new and transcendent spaces.”

Founded in 1978, the Faith & Form awards are considered among the leading international honors in sacred architecture and religious art.

About the Contributor

Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-Chief

A native of Westbury, New York, Ellen Futterman broke into the world of big city journalism as a general assignment reporter for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner in the latter part of the 20th century. Deciding that Tinsel Town was not exciting enough for her, she moved on to that hub of glamour and sophistication, Belleville, Ill., where she became a feature writer, columnist and food editor for the Belleville News-Democrat. A year later the St. Louis Post-Dispatch scooped her up, neither guessing at the full range of her talents, nor the extent of her shoe collection. She went on to work at the Post-Dispatch for 25 years, during which time she covered hard news, education, features, investigative projects, profiles, sports, entertainment, fashion, interiors, business, travel and movies. She won numerous major local and national awards for her reporting on “Women Who Kill” and on a four-part series about teen-age pregnancy, ‘Children Having Children.'” Among her many jobs at the newspaper, Ellen was a columnist for three years, Arts and Entertainment Editor, Critic-at-large and Daily Features (Everyday) Editor. She invented two sections from scratch, one of which recently morphed from Get Out, begun in 1995, to GO. In January of 2009, Ellen joined the St. Louis Jewish Light as its editor, where she is responsible for overseeing editorial operations, including managing both staff members and freelancers. Under her tutelage, the Light has won 16 Rockower Awards — considered the Jewish Pulitzer’s — including two personally for Excellence in Commentary for her weekly News & Schmooze column. She also is the communications content editor for the Arts and Education Council of St. Louis. Ellen and her husband, Jeff Burkett, a middle school principal, live in Olivette and have three children. Ellen can be reached at 314-743-3669 or at [email protected].