Of course, deconstruction and reuse present many unique challenges. Disseminating this idea as routine instead of a novelty 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 landfills 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 deconstruct just a fraction of these buildings, it would be the equivalent to millions of board feet of timber that could be reused for new buildings, owner tax benefits and new job creation. In addition, many deconstruction projects have shown that when we factor in decreased landfill costs, sale of salvaged materials or tax benefits, the higher upfront labor costs for deconstruction are offset and, ultimately, the total costs for deconstruction are less expensive than routine demolition.
How can we move forward toward streamlined deconstruction? Begin conversations in your community with the municipal government and others who could help establish policies and incentives to promote deconstruction, such as integrating it into local permitting and building codes. Talk to your construction industry contacts about retooling waste-management procedures. Evaluate construction budgets to incorporate deconstruction and benefit from tax savings or salvage resale. Encourage deconstruction, salvage and reuse businesses to
work with each other for the benefit of the industry and develop a strong infrastructure within the building industry to promote their individual causes cooperatively. Visit architectural and engineering schools and vigorously promote salvage and reuse in pre-design where it’s practical.
A Holistic Model
This mantra of giving new life to old materials is what led me to become a board member of the Savannah, Ga.-based nonprofit Emergent Structures. The organization’s mission is to increase the value and accessibility of salvaged building materials through facilitation, collaboration, education and advocacy. By creating relationships between construction professionals, property owners, municipal governments and anyone else who has a relationship to the built environment, Emergent Structures hopes to replace shortsighted demolition
practices with sustainable deconstruction and reuse strategies.
Emergent Structures has had success with several local projects, which is spreading the word in memorable fashion. For example, Savannah Gardens, a housing project, is a great example of how much of the potential waste stream actually can be reused. Built in the 1940s for shipbuilder housing, the units in Savannah Gardens were deemed unusable by today’s codes and were scheduled to be demolished for new housing. Although it was impossible to save all the materials within Savannah Gardens, pre-demolition meetings with the municipality (owner), engineering company and general contractor allowed for the salvaging of heart-pine tongue-and-groove flooring, trusses, bricks, windows and many other items.
Emergent Structures organized a group of volunteers to assist in general labor while the contractor supervised and assisted with machinery for heavy lifting. Trusses were reused in a local Girl Scout camp to create new shelters. Reclaimed bricks were used in the foyer of a new mixed-income housing development. Roof sheathing was repurposed into flooring and installed in a community room, library and two foyers in the housing development. Reclaimed flooring that was unusable became shelving. Still other material reclaimed from the site was used to build 20 rain-barrel stands for the community. In fact, a community workshop organized by Emergent Structures brought neighbors together to build and stain the rain-barrel stands.