2022 CLF Boston/New England Reuse Roadmap - Manual / Resource - Page 8
Deconstruction and
Material Reuse Roadmap
with deconstruction, leading to rejection of the
concept or prohibitively expensive cost estimates.
In reality, an adaptive reuse project in the US reduces
construction costs by 16% and shortens schedules by
18% over new construction. With escalating material
prices and longer lead times for new materials, this
difference is likely to increase.
Policy Gaps
The Boston regional area has no current guiding
policies or incentives promoting deconstruction
and reuse. Lacking clearer guidelines, many resort
to implementing green building rating systems such
as LEED, WELL, or Living Building Challenge without
other innovations. Without robust policy that
incorporates feedback from the industry and grows
with the reuse ecosystem, effective industry change
cannot occur.
Limited Training Opportunities
On the execution side, educational and training
resources for project teams are severely lacking.
It has become an “easy out” for many members of
the AEC industry to point to a lack of developed
training, or guiding hand, to justify hesitancy in
deconstruction training and implementation. In
many cases however, this training constitutes a
simple shift in typical practices and not a complete
reworking of accepted practices.
Demolition vs. Deconstruction
While pilot programs started by the city are
currently underway, many in the region still see
deconstruction and material reuse as radical ideas.
As a result, new projects assume that buildings and
spaces should not be considered for deconstruction
as demolition is the “normal” procedure. New
construction and major interior renovations that do
not include deconstructable materials or assemblies
can further exacerbate this problem, continually
pushing the problem to a later date.
Designers
Many architects, engineers, and interior designers
are accustomed to seeing the opportunity of a blank
slate after an existing space is demolished, instead of
seeing the material resources at hand.
There is opportunity for deconstruction and reuse
in every part of the building but often the easiest
place to start is the interiors. Recent studies show
that the embodied carbon of a building’s interior
may surpass that of the building core and shell
due to the frequency of interior renovations
over time. If these materials can be salvaged, the
emissions from new material manufacturing can be
avoided. Reuse would then ensure the diversion of
construction and demolition waste material from
landfills and repurposing wherever possible.
Despite this opportunity, many barriers limit
implementation of reuse to date. These barriers
include a lack of knowledge about where to
source reclaimed materials and what is available,
and a lack of quality assurance or warranty on the
materials themselves. There is almost certainty
with new materials that we will get what we
specify, but if the reuse market is still niche then
there is more uncertainty between the point
when a designer specifies something and when
a contractor purchases it. In some, but not all
cases, the additional cost of union labor can lead
to a higher price for using reclaimed materials than
purchasing new. Often, when the topic of reuse
or salvage is brought up on a project, it is already
too far along to implement. Salvaged materials are
difficult if not impossible to warranty and may create
additional risk or liability to owners or designers.
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While there is an abundance of supply, the demand for
salvaged materials in the market is considerably lower.
Salvaged can often be misinterpreted as old and worn.
Many salvaged items can be designed into a building
without anyone knowing they had a previous life, but it
is also possible to find distressed items. The irony is that
many designers prefer to specify new products that
have been made to appear historic, old or industrial.
What do we need to be doing?
All members of the project team need to be thinking
in terms of deconstruction and reuse rather than
demolition and disposal. It is the responsibility of
designers to use this thinking and others will follow.
Designers can shift their mindset to consider
the existing materials in buildings as valuable
resources that do not need to be bought or
manufactured. In early design presentations,
include salvaged materials, and help your clients
to see the value of existing materials too.
Furthermore, existing products are being reused
or new ones installed, they should all be designed
for disassembly and future reuse. This will maintain
the value of these materials far into the future and
help us overcome many of the challenges that are
currently experienced with attempting to reuse
materials. Recording the deconstruction process
on the drawings will assist future contractors.
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