Markets, Reuse Design, Women in Deconstruction

Old Wood Can Cost More Than New Lumber. People Want It Anyway. | realtor.com®

wsj wood woman pic feature

Cecilie Rohwedder for The Wall Street Journal
In an orange dumpster one recent Sunday morning, between old bricks and trash bags, Heather Olsen struck gold: rustic wood beams that once held the floor of a 100-year-old house.

When Ann and Corey Limbaugh renovated the attic of their home in Seattle four years ago, she spent weeks calling local lumberyards for pre-used wood. Eventually, she found one that had just received boards from an old building in Idaho. She was told to hurry because they wouldn’t be there for long.

Source: Old Wood Can Cost More Than New Lumber. People Want It Anyway. | realtor.com®

Structure Reuse

Craft breweries breathe new life into neighborhoods

Great Lakes Brewing Company
Image blending an image from the late 1970s or early 1980s showing the site of the GLBC facility. The current brewpub, in color, is overlaid on top of the original property, which is in black and white. Interestingly, the Lloyd & Keys advertisement on the wall is still visible today, something GLBC’s Pat Conway always references as a “meaningful coincidence.”

But as in many areas across the country, Ohio City is a prime example of craft breweries helping spur redevelopment of various pockets of Northeast Ohio by breathing new life into neighborhoods and repurposing old buildings that have sat empty for years.

Source: Craft breweries breathe new life into neighborhoods

Portland Area

Saving a vandalized, historic home near Mount Tabor  | OregonLive.com

Lyrin Murphy
The once-majestic house was open during the Architectural Heritage Center’s Old House Revival Tour on Saturday, April 13.

The abandoned Jacob H. Cook mansion near Mount Tabor in southeast Portland was ripe to be ripped down. Instead, new owners Lyrin Murphy and Steve Day have carefully started to restore much of the oak woodwork, porcelain tile and tub, and the kitchen of the pre-1890s house.

Source: Saving a vandalized, historic home near Mount Tabor (photos, video) | OregonLive.com

Reuse Design

Interview: Dan Barasch on Ruin and Redemption in Architecture – COOL HUNTING

“I’m more interested in diving a bit deeper, understanding the real history behind these abandoned spaces, and understanding how a ruin can be preserved and transformed into something altogether new. And I’m interested in the people behind these efforts, which are never easy—going well beyond the developers and architects that tend to get most of the credit.”

Source: Interview: Dan Barasch on Ruin and Redemption in Architecture – COOL HUNTING

Reuse Design

This pipe maker is giving wood a new lease of life by turning them into pipes | Life | Malay Mail

Zulkarnain Saidin poses with pipes that he made in his home in Chemor, Perak April 1, 2019. — Pictures by Farhan Najib

Zulkarnain Saidin poses with pipes that he made in his home in Chemor, Perak April 1, 2019. — Pictures by Farhan Najib

Zulkarnain started making pipes about four years ago and he has made about 500 pipes, with half of them from the wood which are considered as waste.

Source: This pipe maker is giving wood a new lease of life by turning them into pipes | Life | Malay Mail

Waste News

That Noise? The Rich Neighbors Digging a Basement Pool in Their $100 Million Brownstone – The New York Times

Nowhere to go but down: Making room for an in-ground pool at 48-50 West 69th Street in Manhattan.CreditCreditBenjamin Norman for The New York Times

Antique fixtures restored or installed only a few years back in No. 48 were destroyed during the demolition, while the Japanese pagoda tree in front was chopped down to make way for construction machinery. (It cost the owners $16,000, payable to the Parks Department, to do so.)

Source: That Noise? The Rich Neighbors Digging a Basement Pool in Their $100 Million Brownstone – The New York Times

Reuse Design

Firefighter’s steampunk lamps among antique and vintage show treasures | Ottawa Citizen

The Ottawa Antique & Vintage Market was held at Carleton University Saturday April 6, 2019. Brian Killeen’s Vint-Age Steampunk Industrial Lamps. ASHLEY FRASER / POSTMEDIA

“Riding down the back roads saving the past,” Killeen said with a twinkle in his eye. “I find all kinds of things.” Killeen’s Vint-Age Lamp lighting has now been shipped to customers across the United States and Europe and an imposing creation made a Royal Electric Company of Montreal gauge sits in the Parliament Hill office of his local MP.

Source: Firefighter’s steampunk lamps among antique and vintage show treasures | Ottawa Citizen

Structure Reuse

Rock Row: Gravel quarry in Portland, Maine, getting second life as walkable urban village – Curbed

Waterstone Properties Group, will transform the old Blue Rock Quarry near the town of Westbrook, Maine, into a 2-million-square foot mixed use village. Wakefield Beasley & Associates, courtesy of Waterstone Properties Group

Rock Row, a project of Waterstone Properties Group, will transform the old Blue Rock Quarry near the town of Westbrook, Maine, into a 2-million-square foot mixed use village including a temporary amphitheater, retail space, and a 25,000-square-foot beer hall.

Source: Rock Row: Gravel quarry in Portland, Maine, getting second life as walkable urban village – Curbed

Structure Reuse

Google’s New LA Office Takes Flight Thanks to Hangar Transformation by ZGF Architects

Douglas fir steps with amphitheater seating ascend from the entry to the cafeteria. Photography by Connie Zhou.

Google and ZGF Architects had already worked together on six projects, but this would be the largest effort that either had ever undertaken in the realm of adaptive reuse. “The outcome was unknown when we embarked on the project,” Google project executive R.G. Kahoe says. “But we knew we could do something amazing, a moon-shot idea, as well as being the correct stewards for the building.”

Source: Google’s New LA Office Takes Flight Thanks to Hangar Transformation by ZGF Architects

Structure Reuse

Airstream renovated into midcentury modern dream – Curbed

All photos courtesy of Timeless Travel Trailers

In 1989, Union Pacific Railroad acquired Western Pacific, and for the first time in 27 years, the unique trailers were dismounted from their flatcars. Some of the 40-foot trailers were destroyed, some went to railroad museums in California, and others were auctioned. Only five trailers are in public possession, including one belonging to a private owner who asked Timeless Travel Trailers to restore it with the 1950s and 1960s in mind.

Source: Airstream renovated into midcentury modern dream – Curbed

Waste News

Development with preservation | Articles | News | OakPark.com

In the words of Oak Park’s Stephen J. Kelly, a historic preservation specialist, “Will we continue to watch as pollution-spouting equipment turns usable buildings to rubble; more polluting equipment hauls away discarded building materials — concrete, brick, metal and glass — into a landfill to be abandoned?

Source: Development with preservation | Articles | News | OakPark.com

Deconstruction, Markets

Sustainable Trends In Home Renovation & Design

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/moerschy-127417/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=516768">moerschy</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=516768">Pixabay</a>In addition to that, make sure you’re deconstructing your home during a renovation instead of demolishing it. This ensures that some materials in your home can be repurposed instead of being thrown out as waste. You can sell or donate your deconstructed items and help another person make a sustainable choice by upcycling them.

Source: Sustainable Trends In Home Renovation & Design

Deconstruction, Policy/Regulations/Government

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS – Housing deconstruction as a climate change strategy  Belmont Citizen-Herald – Belmont, MA

For example, in the summer of 2012, Williams College (Williamstown, Massachusetts) deconstructed two small wood-frame buildings and, in the process, recycled 92 percent, by weight, of the total material removed from the project site. The Williams small building deconstruction resulted in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to removing 14 cars from the roads for a full year (66 metric tonnes).

Source: COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONSHousing deconstruction as a climate change strategy – News – Belmont Citizen-Herald – Belmont, MA

Waste News

Recyclability of Acoustics

hero alt

By volume, the most widely used acoustic material is traditional fiberglass or molten rock materials. Once retired or demolished, these materials are nearly 100-percent disposed of as trash and put into landfills. Despite their obvious recyclability, there is no mechanism or infrastructure to process and reuse these materials. Consequently, none of them are recycled post-use nor made into new products.

Source: Recyclability of Acoustics

Structure Reuse

One of Avalon’s oldest homes faced demolition, so it moved to Cape May | News | pressofatlanticcity.com

Victorian Home Moving On

The Victorian summer home on the West Cape May Bridge. The first floor of the house was moved Thursday, starting at the EHT storage yard, and moving down through Cape May, over a four-hour journey. March 14, 2019.

What was once one of the oldest homes in Avalon was being moved from an Egg Harbor Township storage yard to the Victorian shore town, a four-hour-long journey taken on by a South Jersey moving company and seven law-enforcement departments.

Source: One of Avalon’s oldest homes faced demolition, so it moved to Cape May | News | pressofatlanticcity.com

Portland Area

Undercover investigation tracks protected African timber to Roseburg Forest Products – oregonlive.com

Deforestation in the tropics has led to protests all over the globe, including this one in Germany. (AP Photo/Joerg Sarbach)

Associated Press

Deforestation in the tropics has led to protests all over the globe, including this one in Germany. (AP Photo/Joerg Sarbach)

Four years of investigation into the illegal timber trade in West Africa led an environmental group to the doorstep of Roseburg Forest Products, one of the Oregon’s largest and oldest timber companies.

Source: Undercover investigation tracks protected African timber to Roseburg Forest Products – oregonlive.com

Reuse Design

This New Hampshire resident built a surfboard out of 700 foam Dunkin’ coffee cups – The Boston Globe

Korey Nolan built an award-winning surfboard made from Dunkin' foam cups.

KOREY NOLAN
Korey Nolan built an award-winning surfboard made from Dunkin’ foam cups.

Nolan, who has been surfing for about a decade, said he was inspired to build the board for the California-based Creators & Innovators Upcycle Contest, an international competition that calls on contestants to repurpose waste by turning it into something that can be used in the ocean.

Source: This New Hampshire resident built a surfboard out of 700 foam Dunkin’ coffee cups – The Boston Globe

In Regards to LEED..., Reuse Design

This gorgeous LEED Platinum winery is made of reclaimed wood

long extended building with gabled roof and rows of grapes growing in front of it

The family-owned Silver Oak Cellars winery was established in 1972 and has since become world-renowned for its award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon.

Tucked into the rolling hills of Alexander Valley, the solar-powered Silver Oak winery design, which was made with repurposed materials, has already earned a LEED-Platinum certification and is on track to become the one of the world’s most sustainable wineries.

Source: This gorgeous LEED Platinum winery is made of reclaimed wood

Waste News

The rubble club: An Irish architect watches his life’s work disappear

Veteran architect: Brian HoganVETERAN ARCHITECT: BRIAN HOGAN

“The building was gone.” He had unwittingly become a member of the “rubble club”. This is the tongue-in-cheek term coined in architectural circles to describe a relatively recent phenomenon – the fact that older architects are now outliving many of their own buildings. And in Hogan’s case, the toll of demolition has become relentlessly repetitive as more and more of his work is cleared away, to make room for bigger, contemporary office blocks.

Source: The rubble club: An Irish architect watches his life’s work disappear

Reuse Design

we talk salvage style with retrouvius | Livingetc

A family home was remodelled by the team at Retrouvius – the reclaimed flooring was specifically designed for hosting cocktail parties.

Some 26 years later, they now rule the roost of the London salvage scene, with both a warehouse trove of reclaimed products and a design studio that specialises in refurbishing top-end properties using rescued materials in a modern context.

Source: we talk salvage style with retrouvius | Livingetc

Waste News

In Atlanta’s Grant Park, 1930 school razed for luxury apartments, townhomes – Curbed Atlanta

The Spanish Colonial Revival-style structure. Rag & Bone blog

A few months ago, North Carolina-based developer Grubb Properties demolished the old Grant Park School, a Spanish Colonial Revival-style structure built in 1930.

Source: In Atlanta’s Grant Park, 1930 school razed for luxury apartments, townhomes – Curbed Atlanta

Reuse Design

Elegant furniture made with discarded cables from Golden Gate Bridge | TreeHugger

Strands of History

© Strands of History

Where do bridges go when they die? Or more specifically, where do the pieces of large infrastructure go when they get demolished or repaired? Well, one company is finding one intriguing way to recycle old, discarded scrap cables from San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge — by incorporating them into elegant and timeless pieces of furniture.

Source: Elegant furniture made with discarded cables from Golden Gate Bridge | TreeHugger

Deconstruction

Construction debris to make way for Aspen government office mostly avoids landfill | AspenTimes.com

Hydraulic shears takes down part of the old ACRA building for the new Aspen city offices on March 6.
Anna Stonehouse/The Aspen Times

“We had a goal of 65 percent for diversion and we are at 74 percent,” said Brain Thomas, the project manager for Shaw Construction. “We are happy with Aspen Deconstruction. They knocked it out of the park.”

Source: Construction debris to make way for Aspen government office mostly avoids landfill | AspenTimes.com

Reuse Design

Somewhere Studio uses reclaimed CLT for 2019 City of Dreams pavilion – Archpaper.com

The sustainable installation is the winner of the 2019 City of Dreams competition. (Courtesy Somewhere Studio)

The sustainable installation is the winner of the 2019 City of Dreams competition. (Courtesy Somewhere Studio)

“Even though it’s a raw material that’s basically used for storage, it looks and behaves like processed cross-laminated timber,” he said. “When we began the project, it occurred to us that we had this big pile of wood staring at us that would otherwise be thrown away, so we decided we wanted to show off its quality and strength.”

Source: Somewhere Studio uses reclaimed CLT for 2019 City of Dreams pavilion – Archpaper.com

Structure Reuse

LocHal is a gorgeous library in an old train warehouse

[Photo: Stijn Bollaert/courtesy Civic Architects]

The design is an extraordinary example of adaptive reuse, transforming a decaying industrial building for constructing and storing trains into a place for learning and storing books–while retaining the existing industrial materials, flaws and all.

The building housing trains in 1939. [Photo: courtesy Civic Architects]

Source: LocHal is a gorgeous library in an old train warehouse

Reuse Design

Wooden Ya Know It – Upcycled Furnishings by Paul Ellis — Kickstarter 

Chopping Board

Wooden Ya Know It,  was founded on the idea that just because it’s old or used, doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful. Old, reclaimed wood and materials have more character and can be much more beautiful than new materials. Handmade architectural elements and furniture crafted with reclaimed materials, reflects what is lost in this day of machine made, cookie cutter home decor and furniture. It also cuts across architectural style to reflect your taste and design from the rustic to the contemporary. Our Goal

Waste News

Frank Furness-designed South Philly church on track for demolition – Curbed Philly

Photo by Melissa Romero

It would also mark the latest of Furness’s works to be eradicated. Since the architect’s death in 1912, many of his Philly-based buildings fell into disrepair, and faced the wrecking ball—largely over the first half of the 20th Century.

Source: Frank Furness-designed South Philly church on track for demolition – Curbed Philly

Markets, Reuse Design

Chiller removed from former Main Street Arena • Charlottesville Tomorrow

The 26,000 pound chiller has been donated to Friends of Charlottesville Ice Park, a nonprofit working toward creating a new rink in Brookhill, a mixed-use development set to be built along U.S. 29 at Polo Grounds Road. Along with the refurbished chiller, ice park equipment, such as lighting bleachers and commercial kitchen equipment also will be repurposed, according to a news release.

Source: Chiller removed from former Main Street Arena • Charlottesville Tomorrow

Markets

Man pleads guilty to stealing antique fixtures at Capitol II Theatre | Newton Daily News

The theft was spread on social media, and officers started investigating possible locations of the items. The fixtures were eventually located at West End Architectural Salvage in Des Moines. The light fixtures were retrieved, and the owner of the store identified the seller as McGinn. He was paid $350 for each item. “The owner of the store appraised the light fixtures at $2,000,” the police report said.

Source: Man pleads guilty to stealing antique fixtures at Capitol II Theatre | Newton Daily News

Structure Reuse

Baltimore developer eyes vacant Stehli complex for $30M revitalization | Local Business | lancasteronline.com

stehli silk mill01.jpg

Exterior of the Stehli Silk Mill off Martha Avenue. LNP Photo

“People are under a misconception that the property is run down. That’s not the case. The bones are solid. The roof was 100 percent replaced,” he said.

Source: Baltimore developer eyes vacant Stehli complex for $30M revitalization | Local Business | lancasteronline.com

Reuse Design

From bowling alley to brewpub, recycled lumber gets new life – The San Diego Union-Tribune

This bar counter at Hoppy Daze brewpub in Otay Mesa West was constructed from upcycled bowling alley lanes from the former Vista Entertainment Center,

This bar counter at Hoppy Daze brewpub in Otay Mesa West was constructed from upcycled bowling alley lanes from the former Vista Entertainment Center, through a program to recycle construction materials. (Bruce DeMoss, Hoppy Daze)

“It was actually better than I envisioned,” he said. “When we were building it, we were like every day, this is going to be cool. It ended up above our expectations. We built it so that it was all re-purposed everything.”

Source: From bowling alley to brewpub, recycled lumber gets new life – The San Diego Union-Tribune

Waste News

City of Fulshear to demolish Switch House, salvage materials | Community Impact Newspaper

Fulshear City Council voted to demolish the Switch House on FM 359 and salvage the materials for a future project. (Courtesy city of Fulshear)

“No one wanted this end result,” Assistant City Manager Brant Gary said. “But the results from the architect’s review, the current condition and the fact that that it had been converted into a more modern home. All of those things added to the decision-making process.”

Source: City of Fulshear to demolish Switch House, salvage materials | Community Impact Newspaper

Structure Reuse

The TWA Hotel Turns an Abandoned Airport Terminal Into a Midcentury Dream – Dwell

Living Room, Ceiling Lighting, Concrete Floor, Sectional, and Sofa This space was originally outfitted by acclaimed Parisian industrial designer Raymond Loewy, the mind behind the 1955 Coca-Cola contour bottle, the 1959 TWA twin globes logo, the 1963 Studebaker Avanti, and the 1962 Air Force One livery.

This space was originally outfitted by acclaimed Parisian industrial designer Raymond Loewy, the mind behind the 1955 Coca-Cola contour bottle, the 1959 TWA twin globes logo, the 1963 Studebaker Avanti, and the 1962 Air Force One livery. Max Touhey

To access the guest rooms, patrons enter through space-age flight tubes—which you may remember from the film Catch Me If You Can. Clean lines meet a touch of glam in the rooms, which feature leather upholstery; a pop of primary color; Hollywood-style vanities; and custom walnut, brass, and glass details.

Source: The TWA Hotel Turns an Abandoned Airport Terminal Into a Midcentury Dream – Dwell

Markets

Stained Glass Windows Stolen From Historic Pittsburgh-Area Church | Pittsburgh, PA Patch

Stained Glass Windows Stolen From Historic Pittsburgh-Area Church

Photo via Mon Valley Initiative. If Seen call Braddock police at 412-351-5400, or Mon Valley Initiative at 412-464-4000.

Zinski said her organization is concerned that the windows may be sold to an antique dealer or architectural salvage dealer for re-use in a house or business. The purchasers may not realize they are in possession of stolen property.

Source: Stained Glass Windows Stolen From Historic Pittsburgh-Area Church | Pittsburgh, PA Patch

Dismantled to Be Moved

Recycling an older Vancouver house is fine, but few think to move it – all of it – The Globe and Mail

Heather Passmore, left, her husband Jacob Crest, right, their daughter Gwendolyn Passmore, 4, and dog Fred, at a home they had hoped to purchase and have moved to a location up the coast, in Vancouver, on Jan. 19, 2019.

DARRYL DYCK/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

The attraction of a used house is obvious. The Nickel website is offering a 1920s character house currently on south Vancouver Island with 2,700 square feet for $162,000, moving included.

Source: Recycling an older Vancouver house is fine, but few think to move it – all of it – The Globe and Mail

Deconstruction

Unbuilders Deconstruction takes a new approach to demolition – constructconnect.com

Adam Corneil, who operates Unbuilders, says he aims to collaborate, rather than compete, with traditional demolition contractors, letting them take down a building to the wood frame.

UNBUILDERS — Adam Corneil, who operates Unbuilders, says he aims to collaborate, rather than compete, with traditional demolition contractors, letting them take down a building to the wood frame.

“Tens of millions of dollars of lumber are purchased every day in this country,” he explains. “The fact we’re just shredding it (old wood structures) up and burning it is completely irrational in my mind.”

Source: Unbuilders Deconstruction takes a new approach to demolition – constructconnect.com

Portland Area, Structure Reuse

Building the Blair Lofts | Camas-Washougal Post-Record

Mark Nichols, a Portland-based remodeler, works on framing the second floor walls of the Blair Building in downtown Washougal, in October 2016. The upper level of the historic building on Main Street has been transformed into four studio apartments with modern amenities. (Contributed photo courtesy of Heidi Kramer)

Local couple Bruce and Heidi Kramer spent three years rebuilding the second floor of a nearly 100-year-old structure known as the Blair Building.

Source: Building the Blair Lofts | Camas-Washougal Post-Record

Markets

Reclaimed Lumber Market – Survey On Future Scope 2028 – Honest Version

A burgeoning expansion witnessed by the construction industry is primarily driving the global reclaimed lumber market. This is mainly due to highly preferred properties present in reclaimed lumber such as superior stability, high strength, less carbon footprint, and good durability. Such characteristics make the lumber perfect for utilization in various types of construction projects.

Source: Reclaimed Lumber Market – Survey On Future Scope 2028 – Honest Version

Structure Reuse

Nicholas Grimshaw interview on reusing buildings and micro homes

“The most destructive thing is to demolish a building” says Nicholas Grimshaw

Photo is by Esto

Grimshaw’s new Via Verde development will also offer adaptable homes. Photo is by Esto

“I’ve got very passionate about it lately. I’ve even suggested that when architects submit a building for planning permission they should be asked to suggest ways in which it can be used for alternative things in the future,” he continued. “The more of that that goes on in the world, the better place the world will be.”

Source: Nicholas Grimshaw interview on reusing buildings and micro homes

Reuse Design

Linking Past and Present: Modern Architecture Made of Reclaimed Materials | Urbanist

Modern architecture made of recycled materials can help raise the profile of greener approaches to building, move the industry as a whole closer to closed-loop ideals and even preserve physical connections between past, present and future.

Source: Linking Past and Present: Modern Architecture Made of Reclaimed Materials | Urbanist

Reclamation Administration: News and Research on Building Material Waste Prevention