The project wants to build a regional economy network around wood and land restoration, with a specific focus on reclaiming wood, lives and neighborhoods in the urban and rural areas.
Source: Can the Wood Project save Baltimore? – Baltimore Post-ExaminerBaltimore Post-Examiner
Rhode Island residents Mary Gervais, right, and Cindy Bogart recently launched a website to help people connect to past practices and materials. (Maaike Bernstrom)
It’s designed to help visitors repurpose items and materials, from antique plumbing to reclaimed wood. It’s about building new from old. It’s about buying local.
“I don’t think (the fee increase) goes far enough,” he said, adding that “there should be a law that you either move the house or use portions of it to build a new house or disassemble it board by board so it can be used.”
Source: Richmond council pushes for more salvage, including wood waste | Burnaby Now
In his book Upcycling Wood, Reutilización creativa de la madera, the architect and artist Bruno Sève writes and edits a non-exhaustive guide of the uses and possibilities of recovered wood, as a framework for responsible reuse; from small scale, such as furniture or artists’ canvases, to medium scale, with its use in interiors and facades.
Source: Upcycling Wood: Disused Materials Transformed Into Valuable And Useful Objects | ArchDaily
Deconstruction of the Empire Landmark hotel in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
OKUDA SAN MIGUEL
We love witnessing the creative repurposing of such abandoned city spaces — factories that become cool lofts and offices, hotels that spring up out of old warehouses, and parks built atop old subway tracks. These reuses support the community and revive the decaying parts of a changing city, making it feel alive and whole again.
Source: The Best Repurposed Buildings In Abandoned City Spaces Photos
Justin Myers
After learning about the unique process Washed Ashore has championed, interested artists and community organizers can apply for a multi-week artist residency in Bandon to dive deeper into their process and support the creation of future pieces of public art from marine debris.
Source: ‘Art to Save the Sea’ exhibit coming to Gleneden Beach | Community | thenewsguard.com
The drawing room at Spains Hall. Pic: OnTheMarket
Oliver bought the hall, which is set in 70 acres of parkland, in January. It was the first time it had been sold in 250 years.
Source: Jamie Oliver gets roasted over R112 million renovation of his Tudor mansion | IOL
Last month, Duke Energy moved about 400 employees into its 83,000 square-foot space at Optimist Hall, a renovated former textile mill near NoDa and Optimist Park. Katherine Peralta KPERALTA@CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COM
Corporations are moving into rehabbed warehouses for similar reasons restaurants are — for the trendy atmosphere. “Developers want to do a cool project. It’s not just about making money,” Klenk said.
Source: Old factories in Charlotte are being turned into restaurants | Charlotte Observer
The cupolas on top of the large barn were restored with wood that came from an old barn that was donated for the project.
“If we can make use of and adapt existing building and infrastructure stock, we save new carbon and resources,” Dr Ness says.
Dr Ness says he was spurred on to write the book about overbuilding when, in 2015, the Adelaide City Council and State Government together claimed that emissions had declined even though city office stock had grown substantially.
Source: Recycling building parts into new ones will save us overbuilding – UniSA professor | Adelaide Now
On April 25, the New Hampshire Demolition crew had knocked down most of the former St. Peter’s main church and had a pile of stone to show for it. GEOFF FORESTER / Monitor staff
But if a property owner wants to tear down a historical building, there’s no law – local, state or otherwise – that can stop them once they’ve gone through the demolition permit process, Shank said.
Source: Downtown: As ‘historic’ buildings fall, Heritage Commission chafes against limited role
As an alternative to demolition, you may find a deconstruction company in your area that can take apart buildings and divert up to 90 percent of materials from landfills to reuse. You may also save money by selling or receiving a tax deduction from donating the used building materials. Endeavor to use treatment technologies that are designed to keep waste generation down.
Source: Tips to Reduce Environmental Footprint of Your Cleanup
NYC’s VIA 57 West building was one of the first pilot projects to recycle all new construction gypsum trim scrap.
Beyond the environmental impacts, “We’re throwing away valuable resources when we’re not recycling this material,” Kaminsky says. “In landfills, when materials are layered on top of other materials in humid, anaerobic conditions, we can see hydrogen sulfide generation. Gypsum is a major contributor to hydrogen sulfide gas, which is associated with the ‘rotten egg’ smell people are familiar with.”
Source: NYC closes the loop on gypsum wallboard – Construction & Demolition Recycling
Rendering via Two Trees
The design will include a barrel-vaulted glass roof inserted into the brick factory building.
Source: Bracing Goes Up at the Historic Domino Sugar Refinery | Brownstoner
1913 Craftsman: The house was built for William L. and Minnie McCabe, who owned a Portland stevedoring company.
The district, which earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, has the state’s largest, most diverse and intact collections of significant structures.
All of the wood was sourced from Danish manufacture Dinesen, which would otherwise have discharged and burned part of the material, while windows were sourced from old buildings that had been renovated.
Recycled concrete, repurposed double-glazing and discarded flooring boards were all used in the construction of Upcycle Studios, a Copenhagen housing development designed by Lendager Group.
Source: Lendager Group uses recycled materials to build Copenhagen townhouses
Allen and Lulu Cameron House, built 1891, at 1126 Church Street
“There are few places in the country that have our quality and supply of historic properties. It’s what makes the island unique and a treasure for all who visit.”
Re-use Hawaii founder Quinn Vittum talks about the salvaging operation at Kona Village Resort at their yard below the Kaloko Light Industrial Area. (Laura Ruminski/West Hawaii Today)
One company on Hawaii Island has assumed a more macro view of recycling and in only a year has filled an entire baseyard with salvaged material from demolished structures. Re-use Hawaii is a nonprofit deconstruction business, and the only one of its kind, focused on reducing the single largest landfill waste stream in the state.
Source: Waste not: Company takes environmental approach to deconstruction in West Hawaii – West Hawaii Today
Ruth Smith pulls up the stencil to reveal a painted design on a block of reclaimed wood, during an art class at Reclaimed By You, on Main Street in Ellicott City. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)
“It was perfect and meant for me,” said Mundell, who works at Community Forklift and is also a customer at Reclaimed By You. “It’s such a unique and inspiring business where people are really creating connections and truly being a part of something local.”
Source: Ellicott City paint-it-yourself business offers ‘reclaimed’ local art projects – Howard County Times
Examples of grant project ideas are creating a pilot reusable to-go container service program that partners with regional takeout restaurants or launching a construction and demolition building materials reuse program.
Source: Massachusetts grant targets waste reduction projects – Waste Today
Chris Proctor (FHP), Nick Greene (Beck House Investments), Mark Godsell-Fletcher (Eat Sleep Live), Steve Gillott (FHP)
“This is the kind of period building that would normally be demolished, and we would use the wooden beams for hand crafting our furniture. So we are extremely proud and excited about restoring this building to its former glory and moving in as Eat sleep lives new home.”
Source: Nottingham furniture company buys new headquarters | TheBusinessDesk.com
Though fallen into disrepair, this remarkable landmark in rural Tyler County could still attract new development.
State officials say it belongs on the National Register of Historic Places, and some heritage-tourism experts consider it one of the most iconic structures in the state. But members of the county commission aren’t convinced it can be fixed after years of neglect.
Source: Distinctive building in West Virginia may not stand much longer – West Virginia Explorer
Flames and smoke rise from the interior of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019, after a fire engulfed the building. ( PHILIPPE WOJAZER AFP/Getty Images)
As the oak frame met its end, so too did remnants of Europe’s dwindling ancient forests.
Source: Notre Dame’s Fire Rebuild: Forests That Supplied Wood Are All But Gone | Fortune
SAWTOOTH BENCH BY: DURODECO $2,050 THE SAWTOOTH BENCH IS MADE FROM RECLAIMED AMERICAN OAK BARN BOARDS FROM VIRGINIA. THE GEOMETRY OF THE PIECE, ITS NAMESAKE “SAWTOOTH” PATTERN, DRAWS ATTENTION TO THE DISTINCTIVE END GRAIN OF THE WOOD. GLASS LEGS SLOT INTO THE BUTCHER-BLOCK STYLE SEAT TO CREATE A CONNECTION BETWEEN NEW AND OLD.
Source: Sawtooth Bench – In The Pursuit
In October 2016, in an effort to reduce waste, support material reuse, and reduce environmental impacts of demolition, the City of Portland, Oregon, enacted an ordinance requiring manual deconstruction of residential homes built in 1916 or earlier. This study analyzes the material quantity data from the first 36 deconstruction projects in Portland to measure carbon and energy impacts. The carbon and energy impacts were also calculated for a hypothetical scenario in which the same houses were mechanically demolished.
The goal of this project is to calculate the carbon and energy impacts of deconstruction and demolition of
single-family houses in Portland, Oregon. The results will allow the City of Portland to measure the effectiveness of their deconstruction policy in achieving climate and energy goals.https://www.oregon.gov/deq/FilterDocs/DeconstructionReport.pdf
https://www.oregon.gov/deq/mm/production/Pages/Deconstruction.aspx
The Board of Selectmen approved an agreement with a salvage company to take items, including the front door and door knocker, from the house at 35 Wolfe Ave. in Beacon Falls, known locally as the Tracy Lewis House, for $3,000. –LUKE MARSHALL
While the items may fetch more money than the company is paying the town, officials said there’s no other proposals on the table. “We have nobody knocking on the door to go in and do anything,” said Selectman Michael Krenesky, who was named custodian of the house in 2014.
Source: Company to salvage parts of historic home | Citizen’s News
The developers set their Los Angeles outpost for the NoMad hotel franchise in the former Bank of Italy, also from the 20s.
These buildings are, of course, compelling because you want to keep them alive and give people reasons to come see them, and certainly you can’t build them today; it wouldn’t be cost-effective. The art of it is finding buildings where you have a response that makes sense, because I always say: If you fight with the building, the building is gonna win.
Source: The Hospitality Industry Is Stepping Up to Reuse Historic Buildings
Nat Hyman, Allentown developer and former mayoral candidate, sued the state Department of General Services in an attempt to prevent it from demolishing the Allentown State Hospital. (Kevin Mingora / The Morning Call)
Preservationists point to historic value, architectural beauty and potential repurposing in their effort to save the property from demolition. More than 5,000 people have signed an online petition to preserve the buildings.
Source: Developer Nat Hyman sues state to stop Allentown State Hospital demolition – The Morning Call
The scheduled demolition of this carriage house in Morristown’s Historic District has spurred an anti-demolition ordinance. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Residents and town officials were alarmed in February by a pair of knockdowns of historic mansions in Montclair, where a Turkish billionaire aimed to erect a mega-mansion to rival Mar-A-Lago.
Source: Morristown hopes to slow tear-downs with anti-demolition ordinance | Morristown Green
“Where I’m from in Kentucky, there’s a lumber mill that buys barn wood now, and they have a sign out front saying that anyone caught selling them stolen barn wood will be prosecuted. […]
Source: Is “farmhouse chic” causing thefts from old buildings and barns?
9 Factory St. is due for demolition in mid-June. Photo by Terry Smith.
“We’re focusing on iconic aspects of the Factory Street building, and repurposing materials where it makes sense to capture that building’s character as part of the new construction,” Ken Johnson, D.O., executive dean of the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, said in the release. “We have found some beautiful and creative ways to honor 9 Factory St. in the new facility’s café,” added Johnson, who also serves as OU’s chief medical affairs officer.
Source: New medical school cafe to honor Factory St. building | Campus News | athensnews.com
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®
“We have all this wood,” he said. “What else are we going to do with it?”
Source: “Sawstainability” In Action At Wake Forest – Old Gold & Black
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.
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
“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
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
Rather than demolishing blighted buildings, the city is helping fund nonprofits that take the buildings apart piece by piece—then resell the parts, which still have significant value in construction.
Source: How Baltimore Is Deconstructing Itself—With Local Nonprofit Help: Associations Now
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.)
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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).
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
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.
