[ GUIDANCE]
REUSE AND COMMUNITY Deconstructing Buildings Recaptures Materials’ Value while Creating Neighborhood Connections WRITTEN BY | KEITH HOWINGTON, ASSOC. AIA, LEED AP BD+C
friend relocated his wine store near my house. As I walked by the new location recently, I peeked in the storefront win- dow to see the prog-
In a recent renovation at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Tifton, Ga., newly made-for- purpose history cabinets were built from heart pine and unique curly pine that had been sal- vaged from another project. The reclaimed materi- al provided the warmth, sense of history, durabil- ity and resistance to decay that is important to a facility where heavy daily use is a factor.
ress. I was encouraged to see the designer had embraced the many opportunities that material reuse provides: I saw a tastefully designed interior with salvaged windows highlighting the aesthetic. Although credit goes to the designer, the store’s owner told me the idea came after he walked through the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, where salvaged building materials are sold for a fraction of retail prices. Walking by my friend’s wine store and visiting local stores that sell salvaged and donated building materials are reminders that reclamation and reuse are worth- while endeavors with real value. With each reminder, new visions and opportunities present themselves for our buildings, com- munities and the environment.
Mother Mathilda Beasley dog park shelter was built through a partnership between Savannah, Ga.-based Greenline Architecture and Southern Pine Co., Savannah, a reuse contractor. The shelter is composed of to-be-discarded materials, includ- ing timbers, fl ooring and metal roofi ng.
PHOTOS: KEITH HOWINGTON 20 RETROFIT // May-June 2013
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Working in the design and construction industry, I often see large amounts of waste that could benefi t others being sent to landfi ll simply because the routine for the industry is to do things the way it has always done them. What if we were to think outside the box in the construction industry and embrace some ancient techniques again? Many of us already are recycling and
reducing waste, which is fantastic. However, deconstruction for reuse is by far the most sustainable opportunity and can add the most signifi cant value. Deconstruction and reuse help to reduce waste, conserve bud-
gets, protect the environment and save our increasingly limited natural resources. Al- ready manufactured, used and removed ma- terials have a quality and embodied energy that simply should not be wasted. Although typically it is the last thing we think about, if we could plan ahead for deconstruction, we could yield as much as 80 percent diversion from landfi lls. Another benefi t of deconstruction is, in
most cases, it provides property owners with signifi cant tax deductions. For municipali- ties that do not have a tax liability, the tax credits often can be transferred to the designer or contractor. Deconstruction and reuse also are
recognized as promising green-economy and job-growth opportunities. Although it may take two or three workers and some heavy equipment a few days to demolish a building, deconstruction could create jobs for perhaps six to 10 workers who carefully deconstruct a building. Of course, deconstruction and reuse
present many unique challenges. Dissemi- nating this idea as routine instead of a nov- elty may be the biggest hurdle. For example, contractors, municipalities and building owners must learn how to measure value of building materials not in the weight heading to landfi lls but as an opportunity to maximize the materials, increase the quality of the human experience and create jobs in local neighborhoods. According to the Washington, D.C.-based
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, hundreds of thousands of homes and municipal and commercial buildings are demolished every year. If we could decon- struct just a fraction of these buildings, it would be the equivalent to millions of board feet of timber that could be reused for new
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