Kol Shalom Synagogue

Kol Shalom is a spiritual and religious community located in Rockville, Maryland. For this project, Forrester built a two story 20,000 square foot synagogue for the Kol Shalom congregation with an intricate wood, steel and concrete structural design. The building skin is comprised of an exterior insulation and finishing system along with custom patterned masonry and a shaped venetian plaster entrance that includes a steel structure shaped after a Hebrew letter. Inside the synagogue are spacious sanctuaries for religious gatherings, classrooms for educational programs and a recreational room. Kol Shalom features a custom patterned Hebrew glass sandblasting finish.

The project also has many sustainable elements. Forrester installed a 24 well geothermal system to efficiently heat and cool the building, an energy recovery unit to enhance performance as well as numerous interior finish materials produced from renewable resources. A 150 year old tree removed from the site during construction was even salvaged and reused in the new building to earn a

LEED Innovation Credit. Ultimately, the building received LEED Gold Certification as a result of these efforts.
Due to an expiring construction moratorium in the City of Rockville, the Kol Shalom Synagogue project presented several permitting and inspection challenges that the team worked through during design and construction.

Project Location:

Rockville, MD

Architect:

Shinberg Levinas Architects

Size:

20,000 SF

Schedule:

11 months