GREENING SYNAGOGUES RESOURCES

Construction - Adat Shalom

Adat Shalom’s (Bethesda, MD) Green Building Process, 1997-2001

Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation is the second synagogue in the US to receive the EPA Energy Star Congregation award. A minimal description is under "Lech Lecha" at its website; this might give you ideas. The Center for a New American Dream also briefly featured it in a video, “More Fun, Less Stuff”. In short, to get others thinking about how the Adat Shalom experience could prove instructive, a few of its major environmental "victories" were:

• passive solar heating through clerestory windows and dark floor in social hall
• ner tamid (eternal light) hooked up to a photovoltaic (solar energy) cell on the roof
• a designated percentage of wood came from certified sustainable forestry operations
• good zone-by-zone heating and lighting system implemented, with many settings & options
• CFL's, LED exit signs, and other low-energy fixtures installed throughout the building
• much material from the existing building saved or kept in place for new construction
• mostly local materials were used; limited Jerusalem stone shipped from Israel for symbolism
• maximum number of trees on-site before construction saved by careful planning
• low-water use (xeriscaping), low-maintenance, low-chemical, native landscaping
• low-impact cork flooring used in lobby areas; recycled carpet used in sanctuary & offices
• mostly-recycled-or-limestone composite "vinyl alternative" tile flooring in social hall & classrooms
• permeable driveway and parking lot for groundwater recharge (gravel, then alternative paving)
• wide buy-in sought from congregation on environment as key priority during building process

Adat Shalom’s Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb adds: “We did well! It wasn't all rosy, however; we "lost" on a few issues – there’s less certified wood than we'd have liked; the design prioritized natural light over denser construction, making it less energy efficient; linoleum would've been better than the composite flooring we ended up with, which still contained 12% new vinyl (which is awful stuff -- to know more about it, see Jewish activist filmmaker Judith Helfand and her award-winning documentary Blue Vinyl); and so on. Still, our experience shows that with some thought and dedication, you can do OK on a limited budget...”