Intrinsic in the mission of all three designers is the desire to prove that sustainable interior design methods are just as useful and effective as environmentally unfriendly counterparts. “When you’re working with waste it can obviously come with negative connotations,” El Baz says. “But through good design and good material research, we’re trying to show that there really isn’t an aesthetic difference in the outcome.”
A simple form with a steeply pitched roof and some quirky detailing makes this house stand out in its suburban setting. Image: Camille Khouri
The owner also found “these beautiful old rimu doors, which add to the industrial aesthetic inside. The main front door has stained glass panels. We were trying to balance the use of reclaimed materials with the thermal performance of the building, so these internal doors were an easy addition.”
The aim of the Super Circular Department Store project was to reimagine waste materials as a valuable local resource by exploring how department stores could create marketable stock from their own refuse.
Working with the existing layout and in a bid to reduce waste where possible, many areas around the home which still functioned perfectly received a light touch, whilst other rooms were transformed with reclaimed materials and timeless decor.
Reclaimed materials have been used where possible. The handrails on the first floor were made from plywood cut-offs from the interior cladding on the ground floor while outdoor seating furniture is formed from reclaimed concrete. All interior doors are reclaimed from the Reykjavik city recycling centre and the textile woollen curtain room partition in the studio was taken from the client’s previous family business inventory from the 1960s.
Scotia Lodge is so much more than just a hotel, rather it is a piece of the region’s rich and storied history.
Similar to the other ventures under the Humboldt Social brand, the design aesthetic of Scotia Lodge highlights the history and beauty of the North Coast, with an emphasis on reclaimed materials, vintage furnishings and lots of natural light.
Julie Denesha/ Performing on an improvised stage, trombonist Trevor Turla plays to the gathered crowd at The Raj Ma Hall, an outdoor concert venue in the Historic Northeast.
The yard is distinctive thanks to three rustic houses built from reclaimed materials. They’re the work of Roger MacBride, the sculptor and artist who lives here.
A brick house in Trivandrum, in the Indian state of Kerala, was built to maximise the performance of the materials used by its designers, Wallmakers architects, who completed the building with reclaimed timber and metal.
The Forest Service is eager to support efforts to reclaim wood because it means fewer trees will be felled; it now coordinates with the city of Baltimore to identify properties destined for demolition and sends in crews from companies with expertise in deconstruction, including Brick+Board.
Cliff Williams / The Outlook Firefighters from the Eagle Creek Volunteer Fire Department served as pallbearers at the funeral of Leonard Cannie Mckelvey Thursday.
McKelvey was laid to rest in a casket made from reclaimed barn wood looking over the Eagle Creek Baptist Church and the Eagle Creek Volunteer Fire Department, both of which the carpenter helped build.
Milan 2016: London design studio Pinch has unveiled a limited edition of its Nim coffee table, which combines plaster and resin composite material Jesmonite with powdered copper.
Described by the manufacturers as “a safe alternative to fibreglass and a lightweight alternative to cast concrete”, Jesmonite is made by mixing gypsum plaster powder with acrylic resin.
Many of the windows in the home are not windows at all—they’re doors, turned sideways and repurposed as large awning-style windows. Margaret adds, “We don’t use air conditioners. We have no need for that in the summer because we get such a wonderful breeze through the house.” Ty Cole
“The preservation and qualitative reuse and repurposing of existing building stock means: –architectural relevance is gained through complexity and multiplicity of meaning (instead of through form) –Identity, longevity, and historical and social continuity are bolstered –Knowledge of building culture and construction is secured – The simplicity, durability, and sustainability of building construction, building materials, and technology are challenged and promoted.
Holly Springs resident Mark Whitlock used his over 30 years of experience in the salvaging business to construct a building from mostly recycled materials. This building is the first new one in the Town Center District.
“All of the floor has been reclaimed out of a building in Pennsylvania, which used to be a part of an old school house,” Whitlock said. “A building in Kentucky was taken down by a fire, so I salvaged about six tractor trailer loads of it and turned it into furniture. I also brought back 13 tractor trailer loads of lights and light fixtures from Texas to use to create my own light fixtures. Every light fixture in the house was made from these materials and the ones I didn’t use for the light fixtures in my h
“It’s an industrial sewing machine and would have been operated by several women at the same time,” Jill says. “We added a glass panel so you can see through to the mechanics as you eat.”
An oyster reef made of old hockey sticks being installed at homes Wednesday in Cape Coral. CHUCK?BALLARO
It is called the “Rinks to Reefs” program, where the broken sticks from the FGCU hockey team are used to make oyster reefs to be placed in the water, attached to docks, at local residences, where the oysters can grow and help clean the canal water.
The Zippered Pavilion is constructed of Zippered Wood technology, which uses short lengths of waste 2x4s.
Many commercial buildings have a life cycle of about 10 years (think about strip malls and office parks, for example), and yet most architects approach their work as if it’s permanent. “Architects never think about how their buildings come down,” Swackhamer said. “There is no incentive to think about decay.”
Sales of the used, bright yellow vehicles, called “skoolies” by their owners, have risen in some markets during the recession as more Americans shift toward a nontraditional, more affordable and socially distanced way to live.
Anderson Media: Danna Sanderson at the Foundary in Sault Ste. Marie.
“The minute we buy a building, I’m in there with chisels and hammers,” said Danna. “The point of buying an old building isn’t to tear down everything, it’s to save what you can.”
In this Victorian house in London, Maria Speake – House & Garden’s Interior Designer of the Year – has cleverly reorganised the layout and made inventive use of the salvaged materials for which her company Retrouvius is known.
The Prairie Barn Brothers are taking on their biggest project yet: the deconstruction of a 126 x 68 two-storey timber frame barn. (Stefanie Davis/CTV News)
“There’s so many different unique applications you can do with the barn wood that just makes it stunning,” he said. “We regularly get cedar, fir, spruce and spine as the major types of wood.”
Wagh has expertise in historic renovation and adaptive reuse. For those projects she researches the building’s past uses and historical significance, prepares nominations for the National Registry of Historic Places, and helps clients navigate historic tax credits.
Above: Built for transporting cargo, the train cars date from the early 20th century and have been fully refurbished for year-round living: each has a sitting room, full kitchen, bedroom, and bath.
Join us for a tour of our favorite attraction, the two antique railway carriages that they converted into storybook guest quarters, each overlooking a lake.
Keith Raymond designs and builds houses using reclaimed materials. ISLANDER PHOTOS BY SARAH HINCKLEY
Different types of wood aren’t the only thing Raymond seeks to salvage from assorted online sites. He also finds windows, appliances, tiles and fixtures. Recently, Raymond had a lead on a slate sink that slipped through his fingers.
“Salvaged from old buildings or junkyards, these items ensure a home’s uniqueness,” says George DeMarco, real estate agent with Halstead Manhattan, “and can boost resale value if done well. Walking into new construction and seeing a blast from the architectural past often can make just enough difference in the buyer’s mind to help make the sale.”
Image courtesy of John Folan
Millvale Moose is an adaptive reuse project that won an AIA Pennsylvania Honor Award and a Design Pittsburgh Certificate of Merit.
The Millvale Moose project is an adaptive reuse of an abandoned Moose Lodge in Millvale, Pennsylvania, that transformed an underutilized structure into a public venue housing a commercial kitchen and a communal social space. The project used reconstituted marble slabs and lumber from buildings that were taken down.
Frankly, the design industry just isn’t thinking about what will happen at the end of material life. And if the design industry isn’t thinking about it, and isn’t asking manufacturers to create products that cater to these needs, the result is a vast disconnect between how and what we are putting into our buildings and the ability to reuse or recycle these items at the end of their initial lives.
[Vicious Squid] dug in to the fertile soil of the garden implement world and cultivated a three-string upright bass with a rich, soulful sound from a familiar workhorse — an aluminium wheelbarrow.
Much of the build is made from reclaimed wood, like the solid mahogany neck from an old door frame, and a broom handle.
Image: Photo of two metal circles on metal stands filled with multicolored resin and automative paint starbursts planted outside the artist’s studio like flowers. Photo by Debra Domal
These human-made flowers, grown from repurposed materials, seem perfectly at home in nature.
Jenni and Andy Wilson’s move to a 1923 Tudor Revival on South Edisto was, for Jenni, a dream come true. Marrying old and new architecture with a classic cottage feel, the renovation is masterful. The 100 to 200 year old reclaimed French terracotta floor tiles in the kitchen are the pièces de résistance, and the ILVE Italian 48-inch black enameled range with brass claw feet is a much used and loved focal point.
The island is made from reclaimed heart pine from the house.
Excess tabletops from the old office were cut to make adjustable shelving in the gallery wall, and millwork was reused in the print and model shop rooms. Overall, 16% of the total material cost for the project was salvaged and repurposed from the old office. 68% of the furniture was also reused (amounting to $100,000 savings).
The wood cladding is made from reclaimed redwood wine tank staves, an homage to the origins of winemaking in Napa, and custom light fixtures are also made from staves of retired Cakebread casks.
Back at the beginning of the 1900s, Equihen Plage was known, as one of the best spots for fishing. As many boats were left to be destroyed on the shore, local fishermen used them as roofs for their handmade shelters. At the time, the area was called Quartier des Quilles en l’Air: the neighborhood of keels in the air.
PHOTO: Mr Aitken says the main stairs are made with wood from a settler’s hut built in the 1880s. (ABC News: Anna Hartley)
The landscape architect, now 70, salvaged centuries-old stones and wooden beams from historical buildings, including the city’s courthouses, jails and flour mills which have since been lost.
Dale Galvin grinds nails from roofing along Old Englewood Road. Some of the roofing will be used to create artwork by artists Lisa McQueen and Gary Carlberg. Sun Photos by Sandy Macys
“People are stopping by asking for a piece of it because it’s a part of their childhood,” Parks said. “It was a part of my life. This is my grandmother’s homestead. My mother was born in 1924 and was raised here.”
Most of the project has been built using reclaimed materials from various projects over the years. The windows are all steel sash from, at last count, five different remodel projects. The pool is perhaps the most notable example; it used to be a water tank for livestock. At 25-feet diameter and 14-feet deep it provides a wonderful black hole of water, particularly in a full moon.
“The wood is generally all reclaimed pieces from when we do renovations or additions,” says the artist. “I work for a high-end company [John G. Early Contractor and Builder], so we have a lot of uncommon things — antique flooring, antique beams. It would normally be trash, but it’s completely usable. The older and more weathered it is, for me, the more appealing. I prefer that to something that’s too clean and polished.”
Designed by Nordhavn-based Lendager Group, the Holiday Cabin consists of five connected structures, all of which are constructed from upcycled waste materials found from demolition sites and local factories.
Many Viequenses build their own homes, but this practice is hindered by the limited supply and high expense of building materials, which are shipped from the main island. The “Unearthing Resources” concept would help to make Vieques more self-sufficient by finding new uses for materials from the island’s growing landfill. The proposal would establish a warehouse for different categories of recycled materials, and provide educational resources for building techniques, including classes. An instructional booklet for materials reuse would help to evolve the culture of self-sufficiency.
Reusing architectural elements is a practice that is as long as the history of mankind. At one point, midcentury, this practice started to disappear. Industrial progress, capitalism, evolving demographics, and culture led to a different paradigm of practice. We’ve never seen our approach as one of invention. Our practice is more today about rediscovering existing practices. We see ourselves trying to connect the past to potential futures.
The Tilia version is made of dark linden wood, and the Salvage version is made of an airy and lightly recycled spruce wood. In both cases, the headset uses a dual 3.5mm jack layout – one per side.
Reclaimed timber—the entryway alone used more than 2,000 pieces of reclaimed timber. Art installations made from 85 percent repurposed construction waste, recycled and diverted from landfills.
Minimising waste is high on the agenda here, and goes beyond the menu; recycled steel and plastic bar chairs are by Snøhetta, while the overall design is the work of Box 9 Design, and features poured concrete floors, custom fitted ply wood booths with sage green upholstery, an open kitchen and long tables made from reclaimed wood for group dining.
Located in a rural area in Quebec, the old barn was in near ruins until the Montreal-based firm was hired to convert it into a secondary family home. Thankfully, instead of bulldozing the beautiful old building to the ground, the studio managed to salvage nearly every single material to reuse in the new design.
Julie Denesha/ Performing on an improvised stage, trombonist Trevor Turla plays to the gathered crowd at The Raj Ma Hall, an outdoor concert venue in the Historic Northeast.
