It seems as though we recycle just about everything. Once we finish reading the newspaper, it is placed in the recycling bin, directly next to the cardboard boxes, alongside the plastic yogurt container, beside the abandoned cans. Public or curbside pick up of these recycled products has made recycling extremely easy and most municipalities encourage the recycling of these types of materials.

Manufacturers have seized onto this steady stream of raw materials and readily transform them into a wide variety of new products. We have the ability to print onto recycled paper, new containers are formed from discarded plastics and glass. Evidence of recycled products is pervasive in today’s environment.

The building industry is inundated with recycled products as well. Nearly every manufacturer touts the virtues of their "green products," ranging from recycled steel and wood products to finish materials such as carpets with high quantities of recycled material content.

Paralleling the phenomenon of recycling used products into newly formed products, the building industry has witnessed the increase of whole buildings being recycled. In the residential market, we see existing homes being added onto, attic space being converted to living space and remodeling work being undertaken where previous homeowners might have chosen to move rather than be burdened with the daunting tasks involved in remodeling. It is clear that urban sprawl is offset and reduced by the renovation and reuse of existing structures. With lower interest rates, homeowners have steadily increased the volume of residential remodeling in today’s market.

At a larger scale, developers realize the value of an existing building and often times take great efforts to either convert a building into a new use or renovate the building to appeal to today’s contemporary market. Examples of successful reuse projects are widespread, from the metropolitan inner cities to the outlying suburbs.

In Atlanta, buildings such as the Georgian Terrace, the Ponce Apartments and the Biltmore have all seen new life, as developers have taken the risk to revitalize the older buildings and convert them into new uses. Abandoned manufacturing facilities throughout the city including the Fulton Bag Mill, Beeline Printing Company, and Toby Sexton Tire Works have all been converted to new residential or mixed uses in recent years. In the outlying areas, such as Marietta, and as far out as Madison and Porterdale, Georgia buildings are either in the process or have been converted to new uses from their previous industrial existence.

Converting a building from its previous use to a new use takes vision. It is often difficult to see the future of an abandoned mill or manufacturing facility when faced with walls of peeling paint, dilapidated roofs and abandoned equipment. The real value in the existing building lies in the shear volume of materials that are already on site and in place, which will not have to be purchased, shipped and installed to create new structures. The creative use of the existing building and the appropriate integration of the building form into a new facility leads to a successfully recycled building.

Most of the older buildings that are under consideration for conversion to a new use, or adaptive reuse, as the industry refers to it, have a long history in the community in which they exist. Older buildings, fifty or sixty years of age or greater, oftentimes have a significance related to their historic character. These buildings carry another benefit for the owner and/or the developer, as the government encourages the reuse of the building and actually provides for a historic tax credit to be applied towards the
renovation costs.

Older buildings are also very often built of materials that we find difficult or expensive to incorporate into today’s buildings. Timber sized wood framing, thick tongue and groove wood floors, large steel roof trusses and exterior cladding of antique bricks and stone, become natural assets in the redevelopment of an existing structure. Oftentimes, these materials are left exposed to the living or working environment, providing a unique finish to the interior spaces.

The fact that these products exist in place, qualifies the building for an important aspect of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The LEED program is a merit based system of ascertaining the level to which a building has achieved energy efficiency in a wide variety of categories of construction. The USGBC is also developing a program specifically for renovated structures, demonstrating again the importance of recycling entire buildings, when practical.

Of course, new items must be brought into the existing buildings that are converted to new uses. It is important to consider the use of energy efficient and recycled products for these new items to complement the existing structure. Energy efficient windows, recycled insulation, and wallboard products are oftentimes integrated with energy efficient heating and cooling systems.

Older buildings have a great deal going for them, and it is worth considering the recycling of these important structures, prior to condemning them to the junk pile. Why stop at recycled products, when it is possible to take recycling to the next level by recycling the whole building and giving it new life?

Randy E. Pimsler, AIA with Pimsler Hoss Architects, Inc. works on a wide variety of project types with a diverse group of clients.

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