Wednesday, Jul. 22, 2009

Church turns its building green

Its upgrades, from parking to the pulpit, earn recognition

The floors are covered with recycled carpet, the walls lined with recycled cabinets. And glass windows make up much of the east side of the building, providing abundant natural lighting.

Those are just a few of the upgrades that helped the Umstead Park United Church of Christ earn a gold LEED rating for its building, which it shares with an architecture firm. The certification has made the church near William B. Umstead State Park one of the greenest in Raleigh.

"We had a common goal of wanting to be green," Minister Doug Long said. "Hopefully this will become more common."

Among the amenities that helped the building achieve the gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard are water-conserving toilets, sinks that automatically shut off, special parking spaces for hybrid cars, recycled countertops, indoor recycling bins for several materials and special lighting in the sanctuary.

Even the pulpit is green -- it's carved out of a tree that was uprooted during a hurricane.

The green initiatives began about two years ago, when the church and BBH Design, the architecture firm, purchased the building at 8208 Brownleigh Drive. The church paid $1.65million for its half of the renovations -- a cost that Long said will save money in the long run.

In the early planning stages, attaining a gold certification wasn't a concern for the church or the architecture firm.

"Our goal in the beginning was just to do the right thing and be environmentally sensitive," said Lee Buckner, an architect for BBH Design. "Once we saw that the things we were doing were LEED requirements anyway, we thought it would be a good way to be recognized and let people know what's important to us."

For members at the church, the green efforts are more than acts of volunteerism and water conservation. They have a strong theological basis.

"We think connecting the creation with the creator makes sense in the world," Long said. "Taking care of the Creation is a reflection of a relationship with the Creator."

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