2022 CLF Boston/New England Reuse Roadmap - Manual / Resource - Page 7
Deconstruction and
Material Reuse Roadmap
Purpose
The purpose of this document is to provide
everyone who participates in the construction
industry with a reference point and a number of
actionable takeaways to implement reuse practices
in your daily work. Whether you are a designer,
contractor, policymaker, building owner, developer
or manager, part of an academic institution or
network or NGO, or an entrepreneur, you can
get involved and help contribute to creating a
successful reuse market.
In addition, our goal is to create a singular
document that can help share knowledge and
resources to develop a singular focal point around
which splintered efforts can coalesce. The current
Boston market has several key parties working to
improve building/material reuse and deconstruction
efforts, but many of those parties are isolated
from the efforts of other key players. By creating a
document that can be used as a starting point, or
central resource, all parties can educate themselves
on best practices and avoid duplication of efforts.
What makes Boston ready for
change?
What is Boston’s current reuse
market?
The City of Boston’s commercial construction
market is booming. Thousands of tenant
improvement fit-outs continue every year and
residential development increases in areas like
the Seaport. In the first quarter of 2022 alone,
nearly 15 million square feet of office space was
under construction in Boston. If a successful reuse
initiative can be piloted in an area like Boston, which
has the added complications of building in a dense
urban area with a strong union labor presence, it
could be adapted for the broader New England.
Boston’s material reuse market is underutilized.
There are a number of factors, including growing
interest from the Green Building sector, limited
space at landfills and transfer stations, and
citywide goals like Zero Waste Boston and the
Boston Climate Action plan that indicate the
market is primed to grow. However, there are also
many barriers related to apathy, ignorance, and
misconception that must first be addressed.
Massachusetts also values its reputation as an
innovation hub for science and technology. Green
building rating system adoption, built environment
technical improvements, and progressive building
and energy codes are essential parts of this
innovation.
Based on the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection’s (MassDEP) Materials
Management Capacity Study and the 2030 Solid
Waste Management Plan, the state’s dwindling
landfill availability is creating a C&D waste
ecosystem that is unsustainable in its current
form. Because of this, piloting deconstruction and
material reuse initiatives in the state is even more
relevant and timely.
Material Reuse
Boston’s supply of construction materials
acceptable for reuse outweighs the demand,
particularly in the commercial sector. More
companies are starting to develop an interest in
materials reuse, but many are hesitant to take the
first steps without a clear path forward.
Currently, reuse is often seen as a one-off idea
only relevant for specific items like millwork, newer
appliances, equipment, and furnishings. Due to the
plethora of ongoing tenant improvement fit-outs in
the city, most without consideration for reuse of the
materials left behind by former tenants, there is no
shortage of salvageable materials, only a lack of demand
for them to be reused.
This lack of demand is in part due to the lack of
infrastructure to make the inventory of reused
items affordable, visible to designers, as well as a
lack of a clear chain of custody for the materials as
they move from one project site, to storage, and
ultimately to a future project site.
Building Reuse
Historical buildings in Boston are abundant.
The 2019 update to Boston’s Carbon Action
Plan conducted by the city found that 85% of
buildings that will exist in 2050 have already been
constructed in Boston.
Owners typically find it logistically easier to
demolish aging buildings instead of retrofitting the
spaces or promoting adaptive reuse. Often, unless
a building is specifically slated to be reused, the
common thought for owners and contractors is to
demolish and rebuild with new materials.
Being a city and region rich in history, there is
significant opportunity for, and many excellent
examples of, historic building reuse occurring in
Boston and surrounding areas. Adaptive Reuse and
Historic preservation are always encouraged as an
alternative to demolition. These approaches and the
specialty considerations they require are important
and deserving of their own independent report,
and as such are not thoroughly explored within this
document.
Typical Barriers
There are several barriers that collectively stymie
reuse innovation and implementation in Boston.
These are by no means unique to this region.
Look and Feel Concerns
Most owners and design teams want a standard
that includes a new look and feel for a space.
Unfortunately, this results in procuring and installing
new materials even in instances where an ‘industrial’
or ‘vintage’ aesthetic is the design goal.
Misconceptions
Misconceptions are rampant in the industry,
with ideas that material reuse, salvage, and
deconstruction will cause project budgets to
balloon and schedules to delay. The union labor and
demolition subcontractors are also often unfamiliar
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