Architectural Reuse Council will step up efforts to reuse construction waste

The Architectural Reuse Council (ARC) was recently formed to maximize building material diversion and reuse.

The San Diego-based group aims to foster more salvage and reuse of material through education and outreach. The group is composed of reuse experts that regularly repurpose cabinets, appliances, lighting, lumber, and other materials taken from construction sites.

“We want to provide property owners and home improvement professionals with the knowledge, resources, and independent industry professionals necessary to deconstruct and donate building materials rather than demolish and dump,” said David Berens, ARC co-founder. “It’s not that people are not choosing to reuse, it’s that they don’t even know it’s an option,” added Property Pros’ Marianna Sparks.

The council will establish optimal redistribution channels and help homeowners and charitable partners. Material donations are tax-deductible.

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.