Category Archives: Reuse Design
Giant Wooden Birds Are Flocking to Broadway | NRDC
For the first six months of 2018, Holiber worked on the flock’s wooden frames, using reclaimed lumber from Big Reuse, a surplus salvage vendor in Brooklyn, and scraps he collected from the streets.
Rare octagon house is one of only a handful left in Minnesota | Star Tribune
Octagon houses were a thing in the 19th century.
They also completely remodeled the kitchen, adding marmoleum flooring, salvaged century-old walnut and birch cabinets, and a unique countertop. “We found a section of bowling alley lane. I edged it in walnut,” Sours said.
Source: Rare octagon house is one of only a handful left in Minnesota | Star Tribune
Modern Rustic #18 | Livingetc
The bespoke cabinets are made from reclaimed floorboards. They and the table are lightened with quick-drying chalk paint, which the owner says is a decorator’s dream due to its malleability.
Source: Modern Rustic #18 | Livingetc
The Paris Researcher Pioneering a New Way to Recycle Building Materials
Saint Pierre is sourcing her granite material directly from the building site for her prototypes (seen here), which she hopes will be incorporated into the new design. Courtesy Anna Saint Pierre
Acknowledging how large a carbon power the building industry is, Saint Pierre identifies the need for crafting new hybrid building blocks. This imperative has led her to formulate an atomistic understanding of architectonics. In her prototypes, stone slabs are smashed into rubble, then crushed into powders, compacted into terrazzo, or sandwiched into gabion walls.
Source: The Paris Researcher Pioneering a New Way to Recycle Building Materials
How much is your building worth in the circular economy, Mr Foster? | Opinion | Architects Journal
Material passports specify the position, availability and value of the materials in your buildings. They support the circular economy by making it easier to identify and reuse products, tapping into inherent value rather than squandering it and starting from scratch. Instead of ‘crushing buildings into pretty useless rubble,’ as circular economy expert Duncan Baker-Brown of BBM Sustainable Design explains, material passports make beneficial deconstruction, or even keeping a building, more likely.
Source: How much is your building worth in the circular economy, Mr Foster? | Opinion | Architects Journal
ReRoot – Made by Hand – Salvaged, Repurposed, Reinvented
Repurposing and revitalizing discarded materials is a driving force behind ReRoot’s business philosophy. Every product under ReRoot is made with at least some – if not all – repurposed materials. Some of these materials were once tools and equipment to begin with.
Source: About RR — ReRoot
Atlanta homes: West End industrial bungalow made of salvaged materials
Connolly, who works as a contractor, did all the home designs himself, and after a renovation lasting a year and a half in which he got almost all of the building materials necessary from reclaimed and salvaged sources, the West End bungalow now functions as a guesthouse, home office and extra living space, plus it gives Ross’ and Connolly’s four dogs (and often a foster dog or two) a double backyard in which to run and play.
Source: Atlanta homes: West End industrial bungalow made of salvaged materials
An Uncanny Mountain Monument Is the Focus of an Outsider Artist for Half a Century
The main building on the Mountain Thunder Monument site
Like everything in the complex, the main building — whose lofted archway is the most visible feature from the adjacent highway — is adorned with fragments of architectural salvage and repurposed refuse, and guarded by several statuary works. Some of these are modeled entirely from scratch, while others incorporate found materials that create a commentary on the ways in which American Indians have been displaced within colonial culture.
Source: An Uncanny Mountain Monument Is the Focus of an Outsider Artist for Half a Century
Port salvage beyond peer | The West Australian
Timber salvaged after upgrades at Geraldton Fishing Boat Harbour was turned into a striking board room table by a Geraldton furniture designer.Picture: Geraldton Port Authority
Timbers and piles discarded during upgrades to part of Geraldton Fishing Boat Harbour last year have been given a new lease on life and turned into a piece of furniture which will serve as a reminder of Geraldton’s maritime history.
GLEAN Portland
GLEAN, Portland, Oregon
GLEAN exhibit blurs boundaries of “trash,” showcases artists at Lovejoy Square, Aug. 1 – 25
Inspiration often arrives in unexpected packages. See how five local artists – Vanessa Calvert, Jeremy Okai Davis, Asa Mease, Miel-Margarita Paredes and Lauren Prado – transformed a steady stream of the Portland area’s trash into art. Their works will be on display and sale at Lovejoy Square, 1313 NW Kearney St., Portland. Opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1. Gallery hours: noon to 5 p.m. Friday – Sunday. Ends Aug. 25. Wheelchair accessible. Gleanportland.com
Source: GLEAN Portland
Brooklyn Children’s Museum installs a rooftop playscape made from reclaimed water tower wood | 6sqft
Inspired by the unique nests made by the baya weaver bird, Nest is made from reclaimed NYC water tower wood fashioned into an organic form; the woven landscape has a climbable exterior, circular hammock area and permeable interior space, all designed to foster free play and discovery.
Source: Brooklyn Children’s Museum installs a rooftop playscape made from reclaimed water tower wood | 6sqft
Dropbox Derby — Lovett Deconstruction – Portland Waterfront Monday September 2
Join us on Labor Day for the Annual Dropbox Derby.
Featuring Revive’s Flea Market Extravaganza! Monday September 2, 2019 10am – 4pm Eastbank Esplanade Parking Lots Between SE Salmon and Madison.
If you are a DIY fanatic, a design junky, or a fan of Portland’s quirky, innovative, and unique talent, then grab your friends and family and head down to the east waterfront on Labor Day for the Annual Dropbox Derby, Portland’s design-build challenge!
In a ‘Recycled’ House, Details That Will Grow on You – The New York Times
A bathroom tile pattern in a Los Angeles home built largely with reclaimed materials was designed to look like a colony of bacteria, based on images obtained from an electron microscope.CreditCreditCris Nolasco Studios
Mr. Pallrand’s master bedroom is paneled in redwood that Pacific Redwood culled from a decommissioned bridge built in 1925 in Humboldt County, its knotholes and bolt-holes still visible. The Philippine mahogany table, now carved with a mycelium-inspired runner down the center, was hewed from 1920s-era church pews that a congregation in Santa Monica, Calif., was dumping.
Source: In a ‘Recycled’ House, Details That Will Grow on You – The New York Times
Going full circle: How engineers can help give new life to old materials – Create
Professor Veena Sahajwalla is passionate about stopping valuable composite materials from ending up in landfill and boosting efforts to establish a circular economy where nothing goes to waste.
Source: Going full circle: How engineers can help give new life to old materials – Create
Renovation respects home’s history | Stuff.co.nz
The timber wall and ceiling wrap is an example of the couple’s reuse policy.
“She’s very conscious of waste in general, avoiding things going to landfill but also keeping things in the house as part of its story,” Higham says. They re-used a lot of rimu in particular from the original flooring, door frames, skirting boards and framing.
Wood from closed Hazel Park Raceway salvaged, donated to reclaimed wood businesses in Detroit
![items.[0].image.alt](http://www.reclamationadministration.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/urlhttps3A2F2Fewscripps.brightspotcdn.com2Fe22F3d2F352704ae428aace2351f2a87dc772Fsalvaged-wood2.jpeg)
The salvaged wood is being made into one-of-a -kind products like this table. Each piece is engraved with the Hazel Park Raceway logo. Photo by: Hand-out/Ashley Capital
“We jumped at the opportunity,” said Sam Constantine, co-founder and co-owner of The End Grain Woodworking Company , which makes products using old wood from buildings throughout Detroit. “Each piece has its own story, and we make sure it continues to be told instead of getting lost in a landfill.”
Source: Wood from closed Hazel Park Raceway salvaged, donated to reclaimed wood businesses in Detroit
On a Mission to Reuse the Past — ecoRI News
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.
Upcycling Wood: Disused Materials Transformed Into Valuable And Useful Objects | ArchDaily
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
The old, the new, the restored | Mail Tribune
The cupolas on top of the large barn were restored with wood that came from an old barn that was donated for the project.
Lendager Group uses recycled materials to build Copenhagen townhouses
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
Ellicott City paint-it-yourself business offers ‘reclaimed’ local art projects – Howard County Times
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
Nottingham furniture company buys new headquarters | TheBusinessDesk.com
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
Sawtooth Bench $2,050 – In The Pursuit
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
New medical school cafe to honor Factory St. building | Campus News | athensnews.com
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
Old Wood Can Cost More Than New Lumber. People Want It Anyway. | realtor.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®
“Sawstainability” In Action At Wake Forest – Old Gold & Black
“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
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
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 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
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
This modern farmhouse is made from reclaimed barns
This New Hampshire resident built a surfboard out of 700 foam Dunkin’ coffee cups – The Boston Globe
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
This gorgeous LEED Platinum winery is made of reclaimed wood
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
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.
For One Designer, the Materials Are the Message | Fortune
Designer and architect Patricia Urquiola speaking at the 2019 Fortune Brainstorm Design conference in Singapore.
Stefen Chow for Fortune
“If we use a material that has been used before to make something new, we have to add value to that new material.”
Source: For One Designer, the Materials Are the Message | Fortune
Elegant furniture made with discarded cables from Golden Gate Bridge | TreeHugger
© 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
Sustainable style: Is old timber best? | Stuff.co.nz
JACKIE MEIRING
The beams featured in this photo are originally from a Wellington wharf.
It’s not just for the sake of the environment but it also gives homeowners a chance to think outside the box when furnishing or renovating to make a home that extra bit special.
Source: Sustainable style: Is old timber best? | Stuff.co.nz
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)
“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
Call for Reuse Artists – Deadline March 31st – Portland, Oregon
Wooden Ya Know It – Upcycled Furnishings by Paul Ellis — Kickstarter
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
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
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, 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
IN THE RAW: IDEAS FOR EXPOSED BRICK WALLS | Livingetc
Image Credit: Paul Massey
Bricks were salvaged from the demolition of the building’s interior to create the wall of the side extension. Similarly, the wood ceiling joists are left exposed, giving an indication of how the structure fits together.
Source: IN THE RAW: IDEAS FOR EXPOSED BRICK WALLS | Livingetc
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
Climate-smart shopping in the world’s first recycling mall | LivingIt
The original idea came from local politicians in 2006 or 2007. According to the waste management plan, all the municipalities should reduce waste and start some kind of business where it is possible to reuse these unwanted resources.
Source: Climate-smart shopping in the world’s first recycling mall | LivingIt
A Decent Reclaimed Wood Guitar by Keith Decent – MAKE
His approach is unique in that he didn’t hop out and buy a sheet of plywood, instead reclaiming it from things like cabinet doors.
Be a Patreon for Keith Decent!
Source: A Decent Reclaimed Wood Guitar
Reuse That Old Thrift Store TV: 3 Steps (with Pictures) – By ReStord-iSh on Instructables
I have a great love for CRT televisions. Especially small ones form the 80s and 90s. A few months ago I found one at the junk shop. Color, still working, $10. How could I say no.
Source: Reuse That Old Thrift Store TV: 3 Steps (with Pictures)
BOOKER’S® 30TH ANNIVERSARY Limited Release- Booker’s Bourbon
Over the last few years, the floors of some of our rackhouses in Clermont were in need of redoing, so we pulled up the floorboards. We thought it would be a shame to throw away so much history, so we stored them for something special. Each box of Booker’s® 30th Anniversary Bourbon is made from the reclaimed wood of those floors – the same floors walked by legends Booker and Fred Noe as they selected batches of Booker’s.
Source: Booker’s Bourbon
Family’s modern farmhouse combines salvaged and sustainable materials | Inhabitat
Ben’s Barn was constructed with a mix of reclaimed materials sourced not only from the former farmhouse and barn that had stood on another portion of the site, but also from a midcentury modern teardown in Weston, Massachusetts.
How a Couple Saved This Curtis Park Gem | 5280
Ryan Cox used a stencil (from Royal Design Studios) to create the living room’s ornately patterned walls. Photo by Emily Minton Redfield.
“Historically designated neighborhoods do a great job protecting the exteriors of historical homes, but we’re losing our historical interiors,” Ryan says. “Every renovation strips away more and more of the original character, and we lose a lot of the workmanship that went into the build.”