New Uses for Old Resources

Deconstruction is simply the taking apart or removing of some building components for reuse before demolition. Deconstruction involves carefully taking apart portions of buildings or removing their contents with the primary goal of reuse in mind. It can be as simple as stripping out cabinetry or as complex as manually taking apart the building frame.

A new HUD publication, A Guide to Deconstruction, provides an overview of the process with a focus on community development opportunities. The guide describes the components of deconstruction and its benefits and presents ways to make it part of a community revitalization strategy.

Deconstruction can offer communities multiple benefits. The process can be linked to job training and economic development efforts. It can create job training and job opportunities for unskilled and unemployed workers. Small businesses could be created to handle the salvaged material. Deconstruction benefits the environment by diverting valuable resources from crowded landfills into profitable uses.

A Guide to Deconstruction is timely for public housing authorities implementing modernization and HOPE VI strategies and for community leaders seeking innovative ways to enhance and improve their community revitalization efforts. The Guide is presented in five parts:

• What Is Deconstruction?

• Building Assessment

• Extent of Deconstruction

• Labor Strategies

• Salvaged Materials Management

It presents key features and project profiles to help illustrate the issues involved. The project profiles offer clear examples of how housing authorities, the military, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other organizations have implemented deconstruction and of the derived benefits.

The Guide offers three important elements to keep in mind when considering a building for deconstruction: the contents and/or the components of the building, the market or outlets for those materials, and the availability of subsidized labor.

A Guide to Deconstruction was prepared by the National Association of Home Builders' Research Center as part of the PATH (Partnership for Advanced Technology in Housing) initiative. PATH is a new private/public effort to develop, demonstrate, and gain widespread market acceptance for the "next generation" of American housing. Through the use of new or innovative technologies, the goal of PATH is to improve the quality, durability, environmental efficiency, and affordability of tomorrow's homes.

A Guide to Deconstruction is available for $5 from HUD USER. Use the order form.