Furthermore: Where the Headlines Take You

The Walls Come Crumbling Down

Who knew that the world of building demolition was rife with fraud, criminal activity, and Mafia connections? Maybe you did, but I just assumed it was a clean business, aside from all the rubble and dust, of course. A profile of one of the legends of the wrecking business, Philip B. Schwab, caught my eye the other day. Along with tales of his multiple bankruptcies and jail time--he took up tennis in federal prison--were stories about the unregulated piratical industry of building demolition. In some places, you don't even need a license to take down a building.

Oh, the glory of massive destruction! With before, during, and after pictures! In full color! If this sounds like your idea of a fun book, don't miss Demolition : the art of demolishing, dismantling, imploding, toppling & razing. Author Helene Liss worked with the firm Controlled Demolition to chronicle some of their many building takedowns, including Pennsylvania Station, the Kingdome and several Las Vegas hotels. She also includes information about the tools and techniques of demolition, but the focus here is really on the explosions.

For a more considered take on deconstruction, follow Bob Falk and Brad Guy through the process of Unbuilding : salvaging the architectural treasures of unwanted houses. Falk and Guy lay out to benefits of unbuilding as opposed to straight demolition--reducing waste to landfills, preserving period architectural details, and reusing or selling construction materials. This comprehensive guide will take you through the process of deconstructing a house, from how to organize the site, to selling what you've recovered, in detail that extends even to "denailing."

If you had the choice, wouldn't you make something that didn't need to be demolished and sent to the landfill? And you would make sure it was safe for humans and animals, right? Even in carefully deconstructed homes and buildings, toxins and pollutants left in walls, carpets or furniture can potentially harm workers or contaminate the environment. William McDonough and Michael Braungart provide a road map and a manifesto for using industrial design to completely remake the way we manufacture and dispose of goods. In Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make hings they propose that contemporary environmental design and facilities for recycling don't go nearly far enough. Rather than create objects and materials that then become waste that we might be able to recycle (or "downcycle" into lower-grade uses), we should begin our designs with the end in mind. Designers should have a cradle to cradle mentality, only creating goods that can be fully reused or that nourish the environment as they biodegrade.

Portland being Portland, we have a few resources for reusing or donating construction waste. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these organizations have sorted through the rubble for you and they all have resources should you decide to do your own deconstruction and salvage project: The Building Materials Reuse Association, Habitat for Humanity ReStores, and The ReBuilding Center.