Revitalizing urban environments with consciously repurposed materials and more practices are the brand’s ethos.
Source: How Sustainability Leader 1 Hotels Chose Its New Locations
Nature’s Beautiful Misfits Sculpted from Scrap Metal | Short Film Showcase – YouTube
This short documentary follows his process for creating sculptures that are contradicting in the sense that they’re both beautiful and, well, junk.
Vanport, Oregon – Historic (and racist) 1948 Deconstruction Advertisment
This 1948 advertisement for deconstructing buildings for the materials, was found by a redditor at Multnomah Library in Portland, Oregon.
Sources: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/vanport-oregon-how-countrys-largest-housing-project-vanished-day-180954040/ fb4ncw119u491.jpg (1299×2439)
End-of-life plan urged for wind turbines – Australian Associated Press
Australia has to come up with an end-of-life plan for used wind turbines, says a leading academic. Image by Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS
“It is not realistic to expect a market-based recycling solution to emerge, so policymakers need to step in now and plan what we’re going to do with all these blades that will come offline in the next few years.”
Source: End-of-life plan urged for wind turbines – Australian Associated Press
Buchanan Studio’s airy, romantic house in London | Design Notes – YouTube
The finished project is now a generous, comfortable home for the couple, their two young children and their dog, and is packed with innovative, stylish ideas to copy.
Deconstructionist Opening – Lovett Deconstruction, Portland, Oregon
The Lovett Deconstructionist is the heart of the company. This role requires a self-starter, someone who is a hard-working, thoughtful, attentive, service-oriented person who can do everything from the rough, dirty work of demolition to the careful, surgical removal of material such as cabinetry, windows, and salvageable hardwood floors. The deconstructionist uses expert skill and collaboration with team members to protect, salvage, and disassemble all range of structures. Our deconstructionists are team players; they are friendly, safe, and conscientious, creating a work environment that is positive and productive. They work in all kinds of conditions, in all kinds of weather, and perform a brilliant level of service regularly surprising clients. At all times, they carry themselves with dignity and professionalism because they are the best at what they do.
Source: https://www.lovettdeconstruction.com/deconstructionist
‘Trash Has Value’: Black Woman Engineer Turns Plastic Into Bricks That Are Reportedly Stronger Than Concrete
Nzambi Matee, a 30-year-old who quit her job in oil and gas to work on her passion full-time, has created a lightweight and low-cost building material that is made of recycled plastic with sand to make bricks that are stronger than concrete material.
Moving toward next-generation wind blade recycling | CompositesWorld
Photo Credit: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
Suppliers, fabricators and OEMs across the composite wind blade supply chain ramp up existing technologies, develop better reclamation methods and design more recyclable wind blades.
Source: Moving toward next-generation wind blade recycling | CompositesWorld
4 ways to revamp your interior design with sustainable products – Times of Oman
Using reclaimed materials and products can give your home a rustic charm while using existing items, keeping materials out of the landfill and reducing the demand for new products and the waste created when they’re made.
Source: 4 ways to revamp your interior design with sustainable products – Times of Oman
Investors force Home Depot to review wood-sourcing policy over logging concerns
Transport trucks and loggers gather around fallen trees in the Chocó. (Photo courtesy of Brian Rodgers)
Some of Home Depot’s plywood is allegedly sourced from vulnerable forests in Ecuador’s Chocó region and the Brazilian Cerrado, and conservationists and investors have pressured the home improvement giant to clean up its supply chain.
Source: Investors force Home Depot to review wood-sourcing policy over logging concerns
Big tourism boost for Mandurah as it welcomes Australian-first sculpture trail | Kalgoorlie Miner
Thomas Dambo’s troll sculptures have been exhibited all over the world. Pictured: his piece ‘The six forgotten giants – little Tilde’ based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Credit: Lars W. Jensen
Based in Denmark, Dambo is the world’s most prominent ‘recycle artist,’ best known for giant troll sculptures all made from reclaimed materials.
Source: Big tourism boost for Mandurah as it welcomes Australian-first sculpture trail | Kalgoorlie Miner
Artist tells Nigeria’s story through sculptures made from scrap metal – YouTube
The artist is fusing pieces from a broken generator, recycled kitchen utensils and collected scrap metal to create a metal fish.
My Forest Cabin Is Built on Stilts With Recycled Materials
Lloyd Alter’s cabin in Shoe Lake, Ontario, Canada. Lloyd Alter
The doors were grabbed from an office renovation, probably installed in the ’80s and replaced in the ’90s. The dining room table is cut out of a bowling alley, on a base my dad made; it was in his cottage for years. My dad also made the sideboard—it’s made from the floors of shipping containers.
Source: My Forest Cabin Is Built on Stilts With Recycled Materials
Maybe awards should celebrate co-operation rather than competition
Not to mention: What steps were taken to source reclaimed materials? How was the water footprint of the materials reduced? What was done to ensure that the extraction and processing of the materials caused no ill health in communities local to their manufacture? How was renewable energy generation capacity increased either on or off site? How did the project reduce the energy consumption of the building’s users? How did the project reverse ecological harms?
Source: Maybe awards should celebrate co-operation rather than competition
Record number of dams removed from Europe’s rivers in 2021 | Rivers | The Guardian
Dam busters: a structure is removed on the Hučava River in Slovakia, June 2021. Photograph: Rob Kleinjans
“An increasing number of governments, NGOs, companies and communities are understanding the importance of halting and reversing nature loss, and buying into the fact that dam removal is a river-restoration tool that boosts biodiversity and enhances climate resilience. We’re also seeing lessons being learned from previous dam removals, new countries kickstarting removals, and new funds, including crowdfunding.”
Source: Record number of dams removed from Europe’s rivers in 2021 | Rivers | The Guardian
DamNation | The Problem with Hydropower – YouTube
This film explores the evolution of our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of wild rivers.
Glenmore landfill in Kelowna going greener with new initiatives – Lake Country Calendar
File photo/Black Press Media
Initiatives include talks with the University of British Columbia Okanagan on research programs, and a building deconstruction pilot program. A city-owned property on KLO Road was deconstructed a few weeks ago in partnership with Unbuilders and Habitat for Humanity.
Source: Glenmore landfill in Kelowna going greener with new initiatives – Lake Country Calendar
A Suburban Virginia Spec House That’s a Mix of Ultra-Modern Features and Reclaimed Wood From the Property
The rear of the home has multi-level patios and sitting areas and a heated pool and spa. Eddie Avenue Photography
This unusual new spec house in the Virginia suburbs offers an old-fashioned mix of hardwood flooring milled from trees on the property and reclaimed materials from the former house on the site that’s been paired with ultra-modern features.
How Logs of Fruit Pulp Replace Firewood and Charcoal | World Wide Waste – YouTube
Traditional Argentine barbecues date back to the 16th century. One inventor created a new twist on the custom, turning discarded fruit from cider production into logs that can replace firewood and charcoal.
Urselmann Interior renovates own office using recycled materials
Urselmann Interior’s office is in Düsseldorf
These include existing wooden and terrazzo flooring that was salvaged during the renovation, as well as heaters obtained from resource-efficient building material platform Concular.
Source: Urselmann Interior renovates own office using recycled materials
Iconic St. Scholastica building in Fort Smith to be demolished – Talk Business & Politics
While the former monastery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, that does not prohibit the building from being demolished. According to information on the National Register of Historic Places website. Owners’ rights do not change when the property is listed on the register.
Source: Iconic St. Scholastica building in Fort Smith to be demolished – Talk Business & Politics
The Real Reason Glen Canyon Dam Was Built – YouTube
There’s a growing movement in support of the Glen Canyon Dam Removal altogether. With the specter of climate change looming, those calls may grow louder. But whether or not you agree with that decision, there’s a lot to be learned from the history of the dam’s construction.
BCIT introduces new deconstruction micro-credential – constructconnect.com
“The first is there is a lack of education for beginning professionals and those who want to upgrade their skills and knowledge, and there are virtually no courses in North American building circularity,” said Martens. “This is the first micro-credential in building circularity in Canada – and, I believe, in North America.”
Source: BCIT introduces new deconstruction micro-credential – constructconnect.com
Computer system designs structures based on available reclaimed wood
Each piece of wood is marked with a unique QR codeDaniel Winkler/ETH Zurich
It’s a sad fact that even though our forests are disappearing at an alarming rate, new wooden structures are typically made of all-new wood. A special computer system could help change that, by facilitating the use of wood reclaimed from existing buildings.
Source: Computer system designs structures based on available reclaimed wood
Lawsuits Filed Against Massive Logging Project The Size Of 575 Football Fields In Los Padres National Forest, Home To The Critically Endangered California Condor – World Animal News
The project would allow unlimited mechanized cutting and removal of live and dead trees of any age up to 2 feet in diameter and an undisclosed number of trees up to 5 feet in diameter, as well as the destruction of chaparral across 755 acres.
Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse focuses on second chances for materials, staff Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse focuses on second chances for materials, staff
Ava Mandoli/The Daily Northwestern. Sustainability is part of the Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse’s deconstruction practices, as well as its retail location’s construction. Some of the store’s walls have been reclaimed from other buildings and are reinforced with scrap material.
“We want to make sure we get those barriers removed, make sure that we get the supportive services in place,” Nicklin said. “So that they get into a job, and they’ve got their gas figured out. They’ve got their childcare figured out. They’ve got everything ready to go because they’ve practiced it.” The transitional employment program connects participants with local employers, which allows them to support themselves and their families. The program has a job placement rate of over 80%, Nicklin said.
Join our curated collection: Inkwell Cottage, The Cotswolds – YouTube
Unique Homestays owner ‘Mouse’ shares the story of creation behind her two chocolate-box holiday rentals, Inkwell cottage and Filly Island.
Illegal loggers in Vietnam train as jungle tour guides | Reuters
Nguyen Ngoc Anh, 36, who was an illegal logger turned forest protector poses at Phong Nha National Park, Quang Binh province, Vietnam, April 8, 2022. REUTERS/Hoang Trung
Now, Ngoc Anh is one of 250 former loggers trained by an adventure tourism company to lead mostly foreign tourists through jungles and into some of the world’s largest cave systems in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site.
Source: Illegal loggers in Vietnam train as jungle tour guides | Reuters
Appeals court reverses verdict that awarded $1 billion to Oregon timber counties – OPB
In this file photo, a truck carries logs through the Tillamook State Forest. Amelia Templeton
The court determined that Oregon can manage more than 700,000 acres of donated forestland for a range of values like recreation, water quality and wildlife habitat — not just logging.
Source: Appeals court reverses verdict that awarded $1 billion to Oregon timber counties – OPB
Plastic-eating Enzyme Could Eliminate Billions of Tons of Landfill Waste – UT News
“This work really demonstrates the power of bringing together different disciplines, from synthetic biology to chemical engineering to artificial intelligence,” said Andrew Ellington, professor in the Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology whose team led the development of the machine learning model.
Source: Plastic-eating Enzyme Could Eliminate Billions of Tons of Landfill Waste – UT News
Tiny homes: Mohawk women build domestic violence shelter | CTV News
A government program designed to train women in carpentry and other trades inspired five women from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, located east of Toronto, Ont., to build tiny homes that will serve as shelters for those fleeing domestic violence. (CTV News)
“It just proves anybody can build. The trade is not gender-specific, my mom was a carpenter and she built our house,” Chief R. Donald Maracle told CTV National News.“It’s good to see women entering the trades.”
Source: Tiny homes: Mohawk women build domestic violence shelter | CTV News
Biden executive action aims to preserve old-growth trees : NPR
An old-growth redwood tree named “Father of the Forest” in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, California in August 2020. Some trees in the park have been standing for 2,000 years.
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
“It’s a very good start on the things that we’ve been asking for,” said Kirin Kennedy, director of people and nature policy at the Sierra Club, one of the members of that coalition. She said her group is not necessarily calling for a moratorium on logging old-growth trees, but for a science-based approach to managing them. “We want to protect old trees, but we also want to make sure communities are protected,” said Kennedy.
Source: Biden executive action aims to preserve old-growth trees : NPR
World’s tallest timber residential tower to be built – CNN Style
The 100-meter-tall construction will follow a system which replaces a concrete core with wood. Credit: Aesthetica Studio/Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects
The project joins other architectural ventures looking to prove that timber can be used as a sustainable alternative to concrete and steel when building high-rises.
Source: World’s tallest timber residential tower to be built – CNN Style
AJ Small Projects winner: How Akin Studio designed its treehouse on stilts
Akin Studio won the AJ Small Projects Award 2022 last week for its ‘treehouse’ in rural Herefordshire.
Have you learned anything in terms of materials on this project that you might use on other schemes? The clients are incredibly resourceful, and we learnt to embrace reclaimed materials, as well as the importance of reuse and considering the afterlife of building components. In the case of Drovers’ Bough, the exposed structural elements are all carefully bolted together allowing for future disassembly or replacement, and many parts of the project were made from surplus materials or reclaimed products.
Source: AJ Small Projects winner: How Akin Studio designed its treehouse on stilts
This American Mayor is Creating the Ultimate Biking City – YouTube
We met up with John J. Bauters, Mayor of Emeryville, CA to learn more about his experience as arguably one of the most bike-friendly mayors in the U.S. In this rider story, John takes us on a tour of Emeryville, talks about his upbringing, and how others can inspire change no matter what city they live in.
Net Zero Buildings Could Bring an Energy Savings Boom – Bloomberg
The roof of ZGF’s new terminal for Portland International Airport will be constructed from locally sourced cross-laminated timber. Credit: Port of Portland
“Acting at scale is so eminently possible,” Lindsay Baker told me. She is the CEO of the International Living Futures Institute (IFLI), which runs the Living Building Challenge, an extraordinarily rigorous certification program that has pushed the building industry to achieve energy use reductions deemed all but impossible a few years ago.
Source: Net Zero Buildings Could Bring an Energy Savings Boom – Bloomberg
How 3D printing could turn an Eastern Oregon town into a high-tech housing hub – OPB
A structure printed with concrete and a 3D printer by manufacturer Alquist. Courtesy: Alquist
To mitigate the logistical challenges, the City of John Day applied for and won a grant from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development. Now Walker and the City of John Day have $60,000 to develop plans for a practical 3D-printed home.
Source: How 3D printing could turn an Eastern Oregon town into a high-tech housing hub – OPB
Going Circular Documentary: Trailer – YouTube
Going Circular Documentary: Trailer
Enjoy Lopez Island living at its best with this already-famous home for sale
Photo via Orcas Island Realty
Instead of a tiny beach cabin, it’s a 1,619 square foot home incorporating reclaimed materials and bright accents.
Source: Enjoy Lopez Island living at its best with this already-famous home for sale
1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Is Secretly One of NYC’s Most Wellness-Focused Retreats
Photo credit: 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge
Hotel Brooklyn Bridge will have you booking a room for the views of the eponymous man-made wonder yet reveling in the amenities upon your arrival. Billed as a hotel of “sustainable luxury,” the five-star hotel was designed by location artists using reclaimed materials and native greenery, lending to the tranquility of the space.
Source: 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Is Secretly One of NYC’s Most Wellness-Focused Retreats
93-year-old former state governor outlasts viaduct he helped design – YouTube
Dan Evans was one of the designers of the two-mile long structure that stood as an alternative to the busy city streets and boasted impressive views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains.
Linda Boronkay designs Osborn House – a whimsical country retreat in Australia • Hotel Designs
Image credit: Osborn House / Alan Jenson
“Just like a certain song or fragrance can have an incredible emotional impact on us, we believe design has the same power to evoke positive memories and feelings,” said Boronkay. “The combination of reclaimed materials paired with rich and tactile fabrics, curated objects from around Europe and personal touches in the different spaces will make you feel like you are being embraced by an interesting individual.”
Source: Linda Boronkay designs Osborn House – a whimsical country retreat in Australia • Hotel Designs
I make my fetish gear from recycled tires to help save the planet
The eco-friendly fashion designer sources her materials from a nearby industrial estate to create her looks.
Jam Press/@broke_boutique
A London-based fashion designer is turning recycled rubber into 1970s punk rock-inspired accessories.East Londoner G Martin, 34, repurposed nearly 688 pounds of rubber that would be piling up in landfills by turning it into rockin’ recycled fashion pieces.
Source: I make my fetish gear from recycled tires to help save the planet
Five of the best relaxing spa getaways | MoneyWeek
© Luna Wilds
Luna Wilds, an “off-grid” spa just outside Brighton in East Sussex, is a new retreat built with reclaimed materials, says Jane Dunford in The Guardian.
Microsoft selects AI start-ups to accelerate progress on environmental sustainability
Ten companies focused on reducing carbon emissions and waste, preserving water and protecting ecosystems have been selected to take part in Microsoft’s AI for Environmental Sustainability Accelerator programme.
Yes Make is helping design London’s public spaces with reclaimed materials from other developments
Source: Microsoft selects AI start-ups to accelerate progress on environmental sustainability
Main Street Arts Festival returns Thursday in Fort Worth | Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Artist Dolan Geiman of Denver readies his sculptures and collages = made from reclaimed materials – in preparation for a past Main St. Arts Festival. The festival returns April 7 downtown.
In February, festival officials announced that PNC Bank signed on as a long-term supporting member of the festival.
Source: Main Street Arts Festival returns Thursday in Fort Worth | Fort Worth Star-Telegram
New Horizon – Demolition with a Mission
In function of the production and supply of materials from urban mining, we act as the main contractor for the dismantling of buildings. These activities are accommodated in New Horizon Urban Mining .
Source: About Us – New Horizon
Concrete Made From Old Tires Proves Tougher and More Sustainable – COOL HUNTING®
They monitored and compared the material’s performance, finding that the crumb rubber had higher impact-resistance, toughness, ductility, damping ratio and better thermal and acoustic insulation. “The results clearly show that crumb rubber cement is a viable and promising alternative to conventional concrete,” says author of the study Professor Yan Zhuge.
Source: Concrete Made From Old Tires Proves Tougher and More Sustainable – COOL HUNTING®
The controversial biofuel threatening British Columbia’s forests | Food and Environment Reporting Network
Ecologist Michelle Connolly standing among cedar trees in the inland temperate rainforest near Penny, BC. The inland rainforest gets much less attention from environmental groups than BC’s coastal rainforests, but it is an even rarer ecosystem.
In 2021, Connolly co-authored a peer-reviewed study that found that BC’s inland rainforest — which once totaled over 1.3 million hectares — was endangered, according to International Union for Conservation of Nature criteria, and could experience ecological collapse within a decade if current logging rates continue. The study found that 95 percent of its core habitat, forest located more than 100 meters from a road, had been lost since 1970. “We’re fighting over the last pieces,” Connolly says.
Sustainable materials: is there a concrete solution? | The Economist – YouTube
The construction industry is responsible for over a tenth of the world’s man-made carbon emissions, with concrete being the biggest culprit. How can we continue to build, without it costing the earth?