Feb 01Salvaged Lumber Summit: Building a Circular Ecosystem
A dynamic combination of micro presentations and active collaboration to fast-track adoption of salvaged wood into mass timber.
In the ongoing search for building materials with the lowest embodied carbon and highest carbon storage capacity (that can be managed in a circular economy), the use of salvaged wood in finger jointed products/feedstock and mass timber assemblies keeps rising to the surface.
This summit will:
- spotlight recent related innovations
- identify key components and status of each
- explore near-term opportunities for moving the effort forward
- connect partners and build new relationships
- identify next steps
BUILDING A BETTER WORLD Eliminating Unnecessary PFAS in Building Materials – The Green Science Policy Institute
End of life disposal of building materials may also lead
to environmental emissions of PFAS. Large amounts
of waste building materials are disposed of in municipal solid waste and construction and demolition landfills, and leachate from both types of landfills contains
PFAS.255 PFAS-containing building products may also
be sent to municipal solid waste incinerators, which
have the potential to release PFAS emissions into air.
Cornell’s Construction Crunch: Ithaca’s Housing Crisis and The Catherine Commons – The Cornell Review
206 College Ave was deconstructed by the Circular Construction Lab. The materials were reused in Felix Heisel’s artwork Circulating Matters.
The Catherine Common’s project is being used as a case study for documenting deconstruction’s local potential. It is particularly useful as it permits a side-by-side comparison of demolition and deconstruction processes on nearly identical buildings within the same economic system. The Circular Construction Lab expects the generated data to provide a “much-needed insight” into the effects of implementing deconstruction and developing a business analysis that could address the scalability of the process.
We can now 3D print as much wood as we want without cutting a single tree
Beckwith and her team are now planning to 3D print timber in a lab from cells of trees like pine. Once this happens, deforestation would surely become a thing of the past.
Source: We can now 3D print as much wood as we want without cutting a single tree
Learning to love — and protect — burned trees | Salon.com
A burned residence smolders during the Bear fire, part of the North Lightning Complex fires, in unincorporated Butte County, California on September 09, 2020. (JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
“Though it may seem to laypersons that a postfire landscape is a catastrophe,” they wrote, “numerous studies tell us that even in the patches where fires burn most intensely, the resulting wildlife habitats are among the most biologically diverse in the West.”
But that hasn’t stopped federal agencies like the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management from cutting trees burned in wildfires or selling the logging contracts to private timber companies.
Source: Learning to love — and protect — burned trees | Salon.com
A Note on Sustainable Wood Sourcing from Santa Cruz Guitar Company | Acoustic Guitar
It wouldn’t pay to build instruments and wait two centuries for them to become fully resonant before selling them, though Santa Cruz Guitar Company gains that advantage by beginning with really old wood. This aligns beautifully with the company’s decades long dedication to using reclaimed materials for both superior tone and environmental responsibility.
Source: A Note on Sustainable Wood Sourcing from Santa Cruz Guitar Company | Acoustic Guitar
As war destroys homes, Ukrainian hemp builder keeps on building
POSTED BY: HEMPTODAY® DECEMBER 12, 2022
The bombs haven’t stopped Kovalenkov, who has launched “Hemp. Ukraine. Recover.”, a non-profit fund aimed at providing sustainable hemp housing solutions and psychological help for citizens and veterans affected by the war. The initiative’s centerpiece is a 30-unit apartment complex now going up near Morshyn, a small city in the western part of the country, specifically for refugee families and orphans.
Source: As war destroys homes, Ukrainian hemp builder keeps on building
Searing House by outsider architect Bruce Goff asks for $975,000 – The Spaces
Photography: Eric Isaacson of SquareOne Media
Midcentury architect Bruce Goff built a plethora of organic buildings across the Midwest and beyond, combining imaginative forms with found and reclaimed materials, including ribbed Quonset huts, feathers and cullet.
Source: Searing House by outsider architect Bruce Goff asks for $975,000 – The Spaces
Jamie Harper art exhibit and opening reception | Arts & Entertainment | winonapost.com
Artwork by Jamie Harper
Harper is a local artist who uses reclaimed materials as his medium of art. All paintings are done with reclaimed latex house paint on salvaged hollow core doors.
Source: Jamie Harper art exhibit and opening reception | Arts & Entertainment | winonapost.com
This sculptor is bringing scrap metal back to life as toys – YouTube
Andreas Drenters spent his childhood tinkering in his father’s blacksmith shop. There, he would spend his time making toys for himself and his friends with materials found around the family farm.
Hereford distillery opens tap room in former toilet block – BBC News
Paul Kenyon started distilling gin during lockdown
He admitted that the toilets in St Martin’s Avenue had once been “terrible”, but it was also ideal for his distilling needs because it had drainage, electricity and water. After removing the cubicles, he had it redecorated with reclaimed materials, including tin from a friend’s farm and reused coffee sacks.
Source: Hereford distillery opens tap room in former toilet block – BBC News
A floating park above the piers of Manhattan, New York
Furthermore, the idea of raising the park on its foundations came from the existing wooden piles in the water from old piers. Though disintegrating, these old piles have become an important habitat for marine life and are a protected breeding ground for fish. The designers wanted to mimic this for the Little Island.
Source: A floating park above the piers of Manhattan, New York
DIY ‘man-cave’ made from recycled materials crowned Britain’s best pub shed
A garden boozer made entirely from recycled materials has been crowned Britain’s best Pub Shed Of The Year.
Source: DIY ‘man-cave’ made from recycled materials crowned Britain’s best pub shed
Sustainable Construction: How to Refurbish, Upcycle and Green Old Buildings – Bloomberg
Tri-Lox reclaims timber from water towers that are being retired. Photographer: Arion Doerr/Tri-Lox
Extending the life of existing structures, making them more efficient and reusing materials when properties are torn down offers one of the clearest paths for decarbonizing a sector that single-handedly threatens efforts to keep global warming within the 2C limit set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Source: Sustainable Construction: How to Refurbish, Upcycle and Green Old Buildings – Bloomberg
Save a building, fight climate change | CBC News
The Sir John Carling building implodes as it is demolished in Ottawa in 2014. The former government building was completed in 1967 and demolished at a cost of $4.8 million, but the bigger cost might have been the wasted energy invested in the building’s construction. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Demolishing an existing building, throwing it away in a landfill, is a staggering act of conspicuous consumption. And yet this destructive, extractive approach to Canada’s built heritage has been normalized over generations.
PDX: Coming 2024 – YouTube
We know you love the carpet. Soon you’ll have a reason to look up, too. (Director: Dawn Jones Redstone)
Semba Corporation creates own office interior from reclaimed materials
The interior is made from materials salvaged from demolished offices
Interior construction firm Semba Corporation has renovated the interior of its headquarters in Tokyo to include reclaimed materials discarded during the demolition of other offices.
Source: Semba Corporation creates own office interior from reclaimed materials
Winners of Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2022 revealed | Scottish Construction Now
The ‘Pre-Landfill’ by Karlis Kukainis from Mackintosh School of Architecture
The Judges thought that this “playful project exhibits the art in architecture and shows that there can be fun beyond science”. It does this by testing the limits of reuse practices of reclaimed materials from demolished buildings which will be key to how we tackle the Climate Emergency.
Source: Winners of Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2022 revealed | Scottish Construction Now
How to Recycle a 14-Story Office Tower – The New York Times
Michel Baars, the founder of New Horizon, considers himself an urban miner, someone who finds a market for discarded infrastructure.Credit…Max Pinckers for The New York Times
Michel Baars thought he could do better than turn it into material for a road. Mr. Baars considers himself an urban miner, someone who extracts raw materials from discarded infrastructure and finds a market for them.
Source: How to Recycle a 14-Story Office Tower – The New York Times
Art from Scrap | Euromaxx – YouTube
Scott Edouard Martinet worked in Paris for years as a graphic artist before turning to sculpture. His latest works use scrap metal mainly recovered from old cars, bikes and mopeds to create anatomically perfect animals.
Leveraging gender for smarter infrastructure investment | Greenbiz
A female engineer inspects construction site. Image via Shutterstock/Phont
The smartest infrastructure is a group effort, bringing together the collective knowledge and expertise of everyone involved: from developers, to development finance institutions, to private investors, project managers, suppliers, policymakers and impacted communities. This also means that if we want to build infrastructure that is both gender-smart and climate-smart, we need education, coordination and synchronization to make sure that everyone involved is fully on board with the benefits.
Source: Leveraging gender for smarter infrastructure investment | Greenbiz
City of San Antonio adopts new housing deconstruction policy | Community Impact
The city of San Antonio will implement a deconstruction ordinance aimed at reducing total demolitions of older, small housing and increasing deconstruction and repurposing certain building materials. (Courtesy city of San Antonio)
That focus will expand in January 2023 to single-family and multifamily housing built no later than Dec. 31, 1945. A third and final phase of ordinance implementation, beginning Jan. 1, 2025, will affect housing built no later than Dec. 31, 1960.
Source: City of San Antonio adopts new housing deconstruction policy | Community Impact
“Brick toaster” aims to cut global CO2 emissions by 15% in 15 years
Rondo’s “brick toaster” heat storage system is 98% efficient, and stores cheap renewable energy for industrial use at 20% the cost of an electrochemical battery. Rondo Energy
These stoves are full of plain ol’ bricks, made out of plain ol’ clay, sometimes with a bit of sand in there, but certainly nothing special in terms of materials. Nothing toxic, nothing that decays over time. These bricks will still be storing heat just as well in 40 or 50 years’ time, when chemical batteries have gone through several generations of complex recycling.
Source: “Brick toaster” aims to cut global CO2 emissions by 15% in 15 years
Cornell study compares demolition vs. deconstruction – Construction & Demolition Recycling
Earlier this year, crews removed roofing, flooring and walls in a project that’s part of a Cornell University study comparing deconstruction and demolition. @ FitchyImages | stock.adobe.com
However, Felix Heisel, director of the Circular Construction Lab at Cornell, Ithaca, New York, told WSKG deconstruction can be cheaper than demolition when accounting for landfill diversion, reduced carbon dioxide emissions and fewer natural resources extracted since more materials are reused in deconstruction than in demolition.
Source: Cornell study compares demolition vs. deconstruction – Construction & Demolition Recycling
YangNar Studio Converted a Pigsty into a Beautiful Tropical Home in Thailand
Reclaimed wooden walkways and shared outdoor spaces make up a lot of the reclaimed Kha-Nam Noi House.
Thai architecture firm YangNar Studio recently completed “Kha-Nam Noi house” in the central province of Sing-Buri, Thailand, using an existing elongated pigsty as a shell for a series of comfortable living spaces made almost entirely with reclaimed materials.
Source: YangNar Studio Converted a Pigsty into a Beautiful Tropical Home in Thailand
Kitchen Trends 2022: New Color, Cabinet and Countertop Ideas
NICK GLIMENAKIS
One good way to include vintage pieces is by using reclaimed materials like wood beams or antique backsplash tile.” — Emma Beryl Kemper, Ember Beryl Interiors
Source: Kitchen Trends 2022: New Color, Cabinet and Countertop Ideas
How To Recycle A House | The Ticker
Fast-forward to 2022 and it’s snowballed into an initiative where BARC goes into “homes otherwise set for demolition,” salvages as much lumber, pipe, wire, and other building components as possible, and then uses those reclaimed materials to build brand-new tiny houses throughout the Grand Traverse region.
Artist Bordalo II
Artist Bordalo II was in El Paso working on installing a large-scale mural on the One San Jacinto building in Downtown El Paso. This large mountain lion is part of a Big Trash Animals series of murals that he’s been installing all over the world using reclaimed materials.
Source: Artist Bordalo II
Philadelphia to launch ‘Reforestation Hub’ to sell fallen trees as lumber – On top of Philly news
MARK HENNINGER / IMAGIC DIGITAL
Baltimore has been successfully running a similar program since 2016, and Philly officials have visited. In addition to milling old trees, Baltimore’s program also salvages wood waste from building deconstruction.
Source: Philadelphia to launch ‘Reforestation Hub’ to sell fallen trees as lumber – On top of Philly news
Wind turbine blades could be recycled into gummy bears, scientists say | Wind power | The Guardian
Two gummy bears made from the composite resin that could be used to make wind turbine blades. Photograph: Reuters/John Dorgan
Once the blades have reached the end of their lifespan the materials can be broken down and recycled to make new products including turbine blades – and chewy sweets.
Source: Wind turbine blades could be recycled into gummy bears, scientists say | Wind power | The Guardian
Sustainable department store opens in Mayfair – TheIndustry.fashion
The Good Store “radically rethinks the department store”, with an emphasis on reuse and refurbishment. A range of plastic-free and sustainably sourced products are on offer, with the space also set to host informative educational events and services to guide consumers through eco-conscious choices.
Source: Sustainable department store opens in Mayfair – TheIndustry.fashion
Waste firehoses turned into outdoor furniture for Maggie’s Southampton
Integrated sidetables were added to the lounge chairs
“People who sit in the chairs and touch the surfaces can ‘read’ the story of the furniture and understand where the materials came from. This connection to place and the playful character of the furniture is a powerful antidote to the usual impersonal, sterile environment of a hospital.”
Source: Waste firehoses turned into outdoor furniture for Maggie’s Southampton
Unique furniture art from recycled materials – Kormorant
Arthur Pululo busy with a unique piece.
Elizma Swanepoel’s unique furniture made from recycled wood and materials such as old-fashioned pressed ceilings has become sought-after collector’s pieces that will be a focal point in any home.
Source: Unique furniture art from recycled materials – Kormorant
Sustainable market coming to Hawke’s Bay – NZ Herald
Re-New NZ Sustainable market organiser Julie Cronin restoring a desk in her workshop garage in Havelock North. Photo / Warren Buckland
Cronin had decided she needed to do something to shape her own and her family’s future, so she started the Havelock North business to take everyday goods that would usually end up in landfill and give them a new lease of life.
Source: Sustainable market coming to Hawke’s Bay – NZ Herald
84 new manufacturing jobs are coming to Dale County
The largest converter of reclaimed rubber in North America is coming to Alabama. (Encore International)
Based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, this company uses reclaimed materials to make flooring and surface products. Ecore International is the largest converter of reclaimed rubber in the continent, mostly using recycled truck tires.
Bespoke Torquay home revolves around recycled materials | news.com.au
Mel and Jez Wright are selling the custom home they created at 29 Highlander St, Torquay.
“I ended up ferrying 100 or so bricks in the back of a van and we’ve incorporated them into the walls of what we funnily call the rave cave,” she said.“It’s a space that we’ve created off the living area to house our music collection. And it’s got some thick sliding barn doors that Jez constructed from the wood that he’s collected over the years.
Major construction firms team up to get the carbon out… | Canary Media
(Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)
Production of cement, the raw material in concrete, accounts for between 7 and 8 percent of global carbon emissions today, due both to the fossil fuels used in its high-heat production and the chemical composition of the raw materials and processes that make it.
Source: Major construction firms team up to get the carbon out… | Canary Media
How to Salvage Building Materials: 5 Tips
Alan Schein / Getty Images
Reusing old wood, windows, metal, brick, and even concrete seems like a no-brainer (even some animals recycle used materials!), but it sadly doesn’t happen as often as it should. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, between 230 million and 530 million tons of construction and demolition waste are produced yearly in the United States.
How Detroit is Turning into a Farmland Oasis – GREENING THE CITY PROJECT – YouTube
Detroit the largest city in Michigan and has suffered a long period of economic decline with tens of thousands of abandoned buildings and empty commercial lots. It is also considered one of the unhealthiest cities in America due to food insecurity and the inability to find affordable nutritious foods.
How Sustainability Leader 1 Hotels Chose Its New Locations
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