Don’t Send Me To An Early Grave!!
In today’s society it is easy to become accustomed to the ease in which we can buy new things, from phones that need to be replaced every couple of years, furniture that breaks down, or shoes whose soles wear out after six months.
In the days of my grandparents things were made to last or be reused until they could be refurbished or made into something else useful.
How does this apply to your next project? There are elements in a lot of existing buildings that could be reused, repurposed, or resold. Instead of just tearing down everything, consider what your grandparents would have done and take what can be salvaged and put it to good use! When considering reusing old material it is important to know what your motivation is, as that may affect your approach:
Aesthetic– You want a building to have a certain look or feeling that can be easily attained by using an old material.
Cost– Sometimes re-purposing old materials can save money, then again it might end up costing more in the end. The cost in today’s dollars to replicate detailed historic trim or masonry would be astronomical, so it makes sense to try to salvage those elements when a building has them. When it isn’t cost effective to restore historic elements in place, often they can be used in new ways. During Columbia College’s renovation of Dorsey Gym, SOA specified that some of the original wood floor be re-purposed into decorative wall panels. Restoring the entire floor in place didn’t make sense, but saving some of it did. Another thing to think about is salvaging and selling materials or equipment to offset project costs. Craigslist, Ebay & used material brokers like Planet Reuse may all be options.
Sentiment– Reusing a material from an old building/ space can bring back memories or evoke a sense of timelessness. On Columbia College’s North Quad renovation, marble stair treads salvaged from a previous renovation are being reused as signage to create a College History timeline in the new ‘Alumi Garden.’
Sustainability– Reusing leftover or rejected materials from another project that would otherwise be sent to a landfill. This works best when a client or designer can be flexible aesthetically. When SOA was designing our office, a limited quantity of leftover concrete block from Battle High School became available, which we used in a striped pattern at our building entry.
What could have been seen as a design limitation, became a design inspiration!
One great example of SOA’s experience with re-purposing and reusing old materials is our work on the Tate Hall renovation for the University of Missouri. We were able to reuse some old light fixtures, original wood ceiling details, railings, and a Tate Hall sign that was covered up by an earlier addition to the building. By reincorporating these elements into the renovation we were able to bring the past into the future by giving it new life, instead of sending them to a landfill. The main motivation for reusing these materials was, aesthetic. These elements were incorporated to give Tate Hall a feeling of timelessness.
These lighting fixtures were part of the original lighting system, they were found collecting dust in an attic and were refurbished and incorporated into the lighting design of the renovation. The ceiling detail was saved and relocated. This detail was not refurbished, as we wanted to retain the flaws and character that it had developed throughout its years in Tate Hall.
This railing was also reused and relocated within Tate Hall. With this particular element some new pieces had to be added, as the old were worn and couldn’t be reused. By reusing these materials, we were able to bring a sense of the past into the renovation without having to use new materials that were made to look old, while at the same time saving these elements from being destroyed and sent to an early grave in a landfill.
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