Material Narratives
image by Cate Meersman
One thing we are passionate about in our projects is listening to the story that landscape materials have to tell us. As we seek to better understand the carbon footprint of our projects, we learn that it takes a lot of resources to build them. With a deeper awareness of material provenance through our material source mapping projects, we hope to arrive at better informed decisions in how we source, select, and approach materials. To facilitate action, we have engaged in methods that will help us change the hefty ecological, social, and economic impacts of standard material practices.
Concrete Rubble
Take for example one of the most ubiquitous materials in the urban landscape, concrete. Under current practices, degraded concrete is replaced with new concrete, creating an ongoing surplus of unwanted, concrete rubble. Though some of the deconstructed concrete is used for roadbeds, the quantity produced far exceeds the demand for reuse, and the majority is destined for landfills. Compounding the problem is the heavy environmental impact of producing new concrete (mining extractions of sand, cement, and stone). The production of cement in concrete produces approximately 8% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. In light of this, we are inspired to find new innovative uses for concrete rubble in the landscape. For now that means casting a wide net, seeking the unexpected, and allowing for discovery.
Low-impact design
Assemblage has already explored alternatives to the material waste problem with one of our projects, Dolly’s Park, where we experimented with local sourcing of demolition materials for reuse in the park. Through material salvage, we were able to divert the flow of waste materials away from landfill. We also began mapping materials to trace the journey of each material to the Dolly’s Park site. We want to create space for a new material procurement paradigm with this work. Our intention is to inspire designers to examine each site carefully, look closely at its existing materiality to see what is already available for reuse. And get to know the salvage, resale, and recycling yards in our cities. If we look local as often as we look online, we will redefine and broaden practices around materials.
Shift in Perspective
While there are many ways we can define the problem of materials and environmental impact, one is to shift away from the view that all materials should be new and ultimately discarded after one use only to be replaced with new again. Although all construction materials are subject to degradation over time, we believe this doesn’t have to necessitate business as usual for construction and demolition waste. Our industry can move the needle towards salvage and reuse!