This option focuses on reduction and diversion of construction and demolition waste, including gypsum wallboard, treated wood, reclaimed asphalt shingles, carpet tiles and construction plastics. The RFA has more information.
Georgia-Pacific to raze 11 unused buildings near downtown Camas – The Columbian
Buildings just north of the main Camas paper mill site sit vacant on Jan. 7. (Joshua Hart/The Columbian) Photo Gallery
Nine of the buildings to be demolished were built between 1929 and 1970, according to G-P’s demolition plan. They include a two-story, 31,360-square-foot development lab; a four-story, 31,000-square-foot nonwovens manufacturing building; a three-story, 11,000-square-foot office building; a two-story water treatment building; two warehouses; a 3,500-square-foot library; and a one-story microscopy laboratory.
Source: Georgia-Pacific to raze 11 unused buildings near downtown Camas – The Columbian
National circular economy hub to lead way in UK bid to create a sustainable future | Mirage News
“By effecting a step change in how we use and reuse resources, the move to a circular economy will deliver major environmental and economic benefits and is an essential element of making net zero a reality.”
Source: National circular economy hub to lead way in UK bid to create a sustainable future | Mirage News
14 Adaptive Reuse Projects from 2020 Show Great Design Doesn’t Mean New Construction – Metropolis
BKSK Architect’s Tammany Hall Restoration Draws on Lenape Symbolism. In one of 2020’s most striking adaptive reuse projects, the Manhattan-based architecture firm inserted a glass dome in the likeness of a tortoise on top of the Union Square building.
Courtesy Francis Dzikowski
All the emissions released in construction, the fossil fuels burned to create raw construction materials and move them to the site, the carbon released in making concrete, trees felled for timber, it’s all embodied in these structures.
Source: 14 Adaptive Reuse Projects from 2020 Show Great Design Doesn’t Mean New Construction – Metropolis
Pinch updates Nim table using copper and Jesmonite
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.
DECONSTRUCTED HOME DEDUCTION DENIED Lawrence P. Mann et ux. v. United States; No. 8:17-cv-00200 Tax News – Bills / Cases / IRS
The IRS now maintains that the Manns are not entitled under § 170 to either the original $675,000 fair market value deduction or the amended $313,353 deconstructed value deduction. The IRS asserts that in donating the value of the House, the Manns donated only a part of their interest in the Property, and that such partial-interest donations are impermissible under § 170. In opposition, the Manns assert that they had a discrete interest in the House that could be and was properly and separately donated purs
Source: Tax News – Bills / Cases / IRS
Today’s wind turbine blades could become tomorrow’s bridges
If this experimental bridge is a success, it could be the first of many. Angela Nagle, a civil engineering Ph.D. student at the University College Cork who is investigating environmental, economic, and policy issues surrounding blade bridges, hopes to see dozens of them dotting the Irish countryside in the not-so-distant future. With 11,000 tons of blades expected to be decommissioned across Ireland by 2025, there should be no shortage of material to work with.
Source: Today’s wind turbine blades could become tomorrow’s bridges
Organizer of proposed Cadillac youth center receives donation of 10,000-square-foot building in Hart | News | cadillacnews.com
The owner of a 10,000-square-foot decommissioned charter school in Hart, Michigan, offered to donate the building to youth center organizer Dana Wilson at no cost. Wilson estimates the value of raw materials in the building to be around $500,000.
Similar to what New Hope Center did in the spring, Wilson’s plan is to deconstruct the building and bring it back to Cadillac to be used in the construction of a youth center. “We’re going to salvage as much as we can from it,‘ Wilson said. “In materials alone, there are easily half a million dollars there.‘
A belly-up North Carolina shopping mall will become Epic Games’s new corporate campus
The Cary Towne Center in Cary, North Carolina. (Courtesy Google Maps)
Despite plans to convert the site into a private corporate campus for a wildly successful interactive entertainment company, some of the property—exactly how much remains uncertain as of now—will be reserved for community use, an aspect that Epic is working alongside the City of Cary to realize.
Source: A belly-up North Carolina shopping mall will become Epic Games’s new corporate campus
6,300-Acre Colorado Ranch With 11 Private Ski Runs and a Custom Bar Sells for $30 Million – Mansion Global
The property has a ski lodge and 11 ski runs. HALL AND HALL
The estate offers every conceivable outdoor activity, starting with 11 private ski runs, plus a ski cabin made from reclaimed barn wood.
How to reuse or recycle Christmas trees in Philadelphia – WHYY
Christmas trees put out in the trash in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
“By recycling them and returning them to the earth, we reduce our waste costs and create a valuable resource,” he said.Options include composting your tree, recycling it into chips, feeding the green to goats, turning it into a barrier to protect dunes from erosion, or even cooking, using pine needles like herbs.
Source: How to reuse or recycle Christmas trees in Philadelphia – WHYY
Exploratory Study of Salvaged Lumber as Feedstock for Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) | Tallwood Design Institute
This study suggests that salvaged lumber could potentially be a new source of raw material for mass timber products, which could create new opportunities for wood waste recovery and greener building products.
Salvaged lumber from Portland deconstruction practices was collected, graded, and processed for mass timber panel manufacturing.
Salvage style stands out in this Grade II-Listed Georgian townhouse | Livingetc
The aesthetic combines the original Georgian features; exposed beams, plaster, eaves and brickwork, alongside contemporary craftsmanship and modern elements required for twenty-first century life.
Source: Salvage style stands out in this Grade II-Listed Georgian townhouse | Livingetc
Adaptive Reuse of Historic Garment Factory Adds Modern Residential Units and New Restaurant to Cleveland’s Superior Arts District
Erected in 1914 and originally home to The Prince-Wolf Co. garment factory, the newly rehabilitated 2125 Superior Avenue now consists of a 57-unit, 40,000 square foot mixed-use residential and hospitality site.
Tour This Houseboat on The Rockaways | Architectural Digest
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
Source: Tour This Houseboat on The Rockaways | Architectural Digest
World’s First Plane – Made & Powered By Hemp – Is 10 Times Stronger Than Steel
Hemp is lighter than traditional aerospace materials (such as aluminium and fiberglass) and therefore requires a lot less fuel to reach a high altitude. Most importantly, hemp is non-toxic, sustainable, requires way less water and land to grow than cotton, and compared to steel or carbon fibre, has almost no environmental impact.
Source: World’s First Plane – Made & Powered By Hemp – Is 10 Times Stronger Than Steel
Aspen City Council puts its money where its mouth is for waste diversion program | News | aspendailynews.com
Aspen City Council has committed funding for a comprehensive waste management plan to provide incentives for recyclable and compostable materials to be diverted from the landfill.
She also told the council that unlike other communities that may benefit from a public-private warehouse that could give construction materials a new life, the local market is not in the mood for second-hand materials. “The concept of taking someone else’s used building materials and using it in a new construction project, the audience for that is limited,” Chapman said.
A Pandemic Woodworking Journey: Turning A Barn Into A Home | The ARTery
The barn’s original floorboards, before and after. (Simón Rios/WBUR)
A demolition crew came in and did the best they could to salvage the floorboards. Their level of care was less than pristine — the boards came out splintered with with huge gouges left by pry bars and hammer blows — but I couldn’t afford to pay someone to take up each board with a soft touch.
Source: A Pandemic Woodworking Journey: Turning A Barn Into A Home | The ARTery
Adaptive reuse means working with the building, not against it: Buildings Week speaker – constructconnect.com
DAVID TROYER — Structural Glass display cases recessed into the floor slab provide a unique design feature to showcase original boiler plate doors that were reclaimed during the cSpace King Edward heritage renovation.
In demonstrating the principle of adaptive reuse, Prentice showed a number of pre-and post-construction photos. In the Simmons building the original main floor ceiling was partially removed to allow for an elevator, while the exposed structural elements including the brick walls and heavy timber beams were left untouched.
The largest dam-removal in US history – BBC Future
The largest dam set to come down on the Klamath is the Iron Gate Dam, standing at 173ft (53m) high (Credit: Dave Meurer)
“I’ve spent my career helping design fish restoration projects of varying types,” says Belchik. In terms of impact, “restoration of passage [projects] are always the most successful and most immediate”.
The Global Construction Industry’s Links to Modern Slavery Have Been Newly Illuminated | Architectural Digest
An analysis shows that raw materials are more likely than composite materials to be sourced from child or forced labor, with precursors and minerals posing the most risk. Furthermore, the data delves into the connection between logging practices and slave labor in certain countries, noting that a staggering 80% of timber from Russia and Peru is reportedly harvested illegally, often through exploited or trafficked workers.
Moran Plant Deconstruction – YouTube
Workers dismantle the old coal-fired power plant on the Burlington waterfront which closed down in 1986. The long-awaited redevelopment is removing the outer brick layer of the building and retaining the interior steel framework, the centerpiece of a new city park on a waterfront that was once devoted to industry.
Minor White Captures The Ornate Beauty Of Portland’s Past – YouTube
In 1939, the Works Progress Administration hired a promising young photographer named Minor White to document some of Portland’s buildings before they were demolished. At the time, White was just starting his artistic journey. But he would soon become one of the 20th century’s most important photographers.
B.C. deconstruction company ignites Dragons’ Den interest – Coast Mountain News
Adam Corneil sparked the attention of all six Dragons’ Den judges after pitching his deconstruction business. (Screenshot from Dragon’s Den Oct. 29, 2020 episode)
By the end of Corneil’s pitch, he had all six dragons offering him a deal and walked away with the potential for $600,000 ($100,000 from each dragon) at 18 per cent.
Source: B.C. deconstruction company ignites Dragons’ Den interest – Coast Mountain News
Timber unlocks adaptive reuse options for new Melbourne hotel
The thing about constructing with timber, Bates Smart architectural firm director Julian Anderson says, is it’s “a very quiet process” compared to steel and concrete. “Which means the impact on adjacent residents and then also the tenants within the commercial building was pretty minimal.”
Source: Timber unlocks adaptive reuse options for new Melbourne hotel
Hilco buys Potomac River Generating Station in Alexandria for mixed-use project – The Washington Post
The Potomac River Generating Station is a former coal-fired power plant that has been dormant since 2012. (Hilco Redevelopment Partners)
“We’re excited about the chance to reintegrate it into the surrounding urban fabric, open up that access to the waterfront and create a really dynamic district with world-class architecture,” said Melissa Schrock, the senior vice president of mixed-use development at Hilco. “We think the city of Alexandria deserves nothing less.”
Wrecking Balls are a-swinging: rethinking the demolition mindset
As British architect Spencer de Grey of Foster + Partners has remarked, “…with the increasing pressure of sustainability, of survival on this planet, we need, at all times, to be making the best use of what is already built. So, the challenge I think for today, is to find ways of bringing new life to those buildings.”
Source: Wrecking Balls are a-swinging: rethinking the demolition mindset
The Day – Norwich seeks bids for next step in Uncas Leap park project – News from southeastern Connecticut
Yantic Falls in Norwich Friday, October 23, 2020. The City of Norwich is moving forward on plans to develop the park area around the falls. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
“Reutilizing the building will create a more attractive view,” City Planner Deanna Rhodes said. “Deconstruction will be an homage to what was there before, the mill history, and also will provide the viewshed that makes that whole area so significant.”
The FINANCIAL – IKEA opens its first second-hand store
The collaboration with ReTuna will help IKEA understand why some IKEA products are turned into waste, what condition they are in when thrown away, why do people choose to donate or recycle products, and if there’s an interest in buying the products that have been repaired.
Source: The FINANCIAL – IKEA opens its first second-hand store
‘Mining the value of demolition:’ Dubuquer’s business salvages building materials | Tri-state News | telegraphherald.com
Keyshauwn Lewis works on pulling nails from lumber reused from the Flexsteel building that was deconstructed recently.
“We are mining the value in demolition,” he said. “1.2 million pounds of wood has been salvaged to date, and there is still more. There’s literally millions of pounds of material that was taken out of that building and would have gone in a landfill.”
A software application to ease the reuse of construction materials
For example, it changes the layout of the structure and it optimally selects and positions elements from existing stocks to further reduce the structure’s carbon footprint, it limits the number of new cuts and keeps the number of components to a minimum.
Source: A software application to ease the reuse of construction materials
This Todd Snyder-Designed Lodge Makes For The Most Luxurious Rustic Getaway
The two bedrooms are fitted with custom ABC Home patchwork rugs, reclaimed Russian Pine headboards, mirrors featuring custom live-edge wood frames, pebble stone-tiled bathroom showers, naturally stained nickel-gap wood along the walls, honed princess white marble top night tables and John Robshaw linen bedding accented with wool blankets
Source: This Todd Snyder-Designed Lodge Makes For The Most Luxurious Rustic Getaway
Best Green Project: Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design | 2020-10-27 | Engineering News-Record
Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design PHOTOS BY JONATHAN HILLYER
The Kendeda Building also is the first global example of using salvaged materials in a mass timber project, incorporating nearly 500 nail-laminated panels crafted from salvaged 2x6s and 2x4s previously used for local movie and TV productions.
Gwyneth Paltrow is selling a £45,000 bed – and the mattress alone cost £25,000 | Daily Mail Online
Actress turned health guru Gwyneth Paltrow, 48, pictured is selling an eco-friendly and sustainable sourced handmade bed for £45,000 ($58,252) in a partnership with bespoke L.A-based bed-makers Avocado
Meanwhile the frame is made from reclaimed wood, with handmade springs in organic cotton pockets offering the bed support and comfort.
Source: Gwyneth Paltrow is selling a £45,000 bed – and the mattress alone cost £25,000 | Daily Mail Online
Recycling Wind Turbine Blades
Source: Berkeley Lab Electric Markets & Policy
An added approach to the blade recycling issue is to focus on the upfront piece — what the blades are made of. Additional research and development is looking into using thermoplastic resin instead of fiberglass or carbon fiber for wind turbine blades. The material may be easier and cheaper to recycle.
Source: Recycling Wind Turbine Blades
Hauser & Wirth gallery, where adaptive reuse and art thrive
The concrete blocks were sustainably sourced and partially made with recycled waste glass and aggregate.
Source: Hauser & Wirth gallery, where adaptive reuse and art thrive
Logging is not the solution to wildfires or climate change | TheHill
Getty Images
Logging makes fires worse, not better. One of the most fateful management choices Congress and our federal forest agencies made in the past was to allow logging corporations free reign on public lands to take the biggest, oldest, most fire-resistant trees with them and leave behind flammable piles of slash, dense plantations of young trees and networks of logging roads that would stretch from here to the moon and halfway back. With these roads come more human-sparked fires from logging equipment, irresponsible campers, gunfire and fireworks. Ninety percent of wildland fires are human caused and this labyrinth of logging roads provides the conduit.
Source: Logging is not the solution to wildfires or climate change | TheHill
Creative Junk Therapy, New Nonprofit, Brings Creativity To The Community – Osprey Observer
Karen Koseck is the executive director of Creative Junk Therapy, a nonprofit creative reuse center that promotes creativity, environmental awareness and community through reuse.
If you ask Koseck what she likes most about her job, she’ll tell you it’s the excitement she brings to her clients. “I love the excitement of the people,” she said. “We have tried to make a fun, interesting environment and there is a lot to see. Our goal is to encourage people to reconsider the things they throw away.”
Source: Creative Junk Therapy, New Nonprofit, Brings Creativity To The Community – Osprey Observer
How a drab office building was repurposed into gorgeous, affordable ap
[Photo: Studio One Eleven]
“Many times, for better or worse, these types of developments can help uplift an area and to some extent gentrify an area,” he says. “And I think the most economical way, if an area is going to gentrify, is to get the affordable housing in there first so that the affordable housing developers aren’t competing at higher land costs and there’s already an embedded affordable housing population there.”
Source: How a drab office building was repurposed into gorgeous, affordable ap
A ‘deconstruction industry’ can help cut infrastructure sector emissions
“Once materials – raw materials – leave the biosphere and enter the technosphere because they are processed, we need to keep them in the technosphere and recycle or reuse them as much as possible,” Pralle said. “For that we need to create a deconstruction industry as powerful and elaborate as the mining industry.” Pralle said the success of a deconstruction industry
Source: A ‘deconstruction industry’ can help cut infrastructure sector emissions
Vancouver company leads the way in innovative home deconstruction | CTV News
A house on Vancouver’s West Side being dismantled by the group Unbuilders is seen on Sept. 30, 2020.
“What you’re going to see over the next five years is a rollout of deconstruction policy across the board,” said Corniel. “So, we’re the first of our kind in Canada, doing what we do, but this will be the typical way that houses are taken down and taken apart in the future.”
Source: Vancouver company leads the way in innovative home deconstruction | CTV News
Pamplin Media Group – Reused MAX train designs debated at Oregon Rail Heritage Center
DAVID F. ASHTON – Competition exhibits are taped up on the sides of old rail coaches for public display – to be voted on by people attending the event.
The competition grew out of an idea by TriMet General Manager Doug Kelsey to find a way to re-purpose the Type 1 light rail vehicles while addressing a public need, and if successful, keeping the trains from becoming scrap. “Wouldn’t it be amazing to find a new way to re-use these old trains that advanced the legacy of transit – connecting people with services, with opportunities, with the community we so value?” he asked.
Source: Pamplin Media Group – Reused MAX train designs debated at Oregon Rail Heritage Center
Erster Re-Use Store in Berliner Kaufhaus eröffnet – Berlin.de
Image: SenUVK
The B-Wa (h) renhaus with its shop-in-shop range of used goods is also a unique project nationwide. It is an important step on the way to ‘department stores of the future’, which offer attractive shopping opportunities for used goods. As part of the Re-Use initiative, three to four “used department stores of the future” are to be built in Berlin in the medium term.
Source: Erster Re-Use Store in Berliner Kaufhaus eröffnet – Berlin.de
To Cut Waste, Berlin Opens Its Own Secondhand Shop – Bloomberg
Photographer: Stefan Sauer/picture alliance via Getty Images
Berlin hopes to use the stores to “anchor the re-use of used goods in urban society” by functioning as centers to educate and spread tips on re-use — especially to sections of the public that aren’t currently much involved in the circular economy. The initiative is part of a broader plan from Berlin’s ruling center-left/Green/left coalition that looks to slash waste in all areas of the city’s economy.
Source: To Cut Waste, Berlin Opens Its Own Secondhand Shop – Bloomberg
Change planning laws to reduce waste and refurbish old buildings, engineers say – About Manchester
The government needs to go further with its circular economy plans if the UK is to reduce its waste and make a green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to engineers from the University of Sheffield.
Adding circular economy principles to the planning process would put greater emphasis on retrofitting buildings, designing for adaptability, deconstruction and reuse of materials at end of life. It would both reduce waste, and help to reduce the UK’s demand for new materials.
Source: Change planning laws to reduce waste and refurbish old buildings, engineers say – About Manchester
The Case for Upcycling in Architecture | Architect Magazine
Triest Verlag
“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.
Source: The Case for Upcycling in Architecture | Architect Magazine
As salvaging reopens, YK says dump has changed for the better
“In general, we’re just trying to be strategic with how waste is handled and processed on-site so that it’s safe, we’re compliant to regulations, and people really take pride in the Yellowknife landfill.”
Source: As salvaging reopens, YK says dump has changed for the better
Portland shoe baron’s 1880 mansion saved, moved and now for sale at $1.8 million – oregonlive.com
KLiK Concepts LLC
1880 Fried-Durkheimer House
“It’s the most beautiful, most authentic project I’ve work on,” says Karlsson, a Portland development consultant. “And it’s a perfect post-COVID-19 office space” for a boutique law firm or financial service group, or a larger company downsizing to allow employees to work at home yet still needs private offices.
Transporting two halves of a historic mansion through downtown Portland streets grabbed headlines three years ago. The outcome of the taxing, slow move of a shoe baron’s Victorian-era house to save it from the wrecking ball is even more stunning: The three-level structure, on its new triangular lot, is for sale at $1.8 million.
Source: Portland shoe baron’s 1880 mansion saved, moved and now for sale at $1.8 million – oregonlive.com
Amy Marks, the “queen of prefab”: Why building and construction is not an industry, it’s an ecosystem | The Fifth Estate
Amy Marks is head of Industrialised Construction Strategy and Evangelism at the global technology company Autodesk.
She says building and construction is NOT an industry. It’s an eco system and this means it can’t be disrupted or reformed from the bottom up. It has to be disrupted from the top down. She means by influential clients such as large corporates or governments who can demand new outcomes through different methodologies.
DON launches a deconstruction-and-reuse program | Local News | ncnewsonline.com
A blighted Pine Street home is taken apart by DON ReClaim! workers.
“It was hot, hard work, but extremely rewarding, and demonstrates very clearly there is a real market for these materials. They just need to be reclaimed and offered for sale.”
Source: DON launches a deconstruction-and-reuse program | Local News | ncnewsonline.com