Case Studies

Category: Diversion
Posted by aaguilar on Oct 31, 2005
4132 Reads |

By Diane Greer

The interior of the former J.P. Morgan building at 15 Broad Street is being demolished, not with sledge hammers and brute force but utilizing a new technique called deconstruction. Instead of filling dumpsters with demolition debris, materials carefully removed from the site are packaged and loaded onto trucks for reuse, resale or refurbishing. Deconstruction is allowing the developer to realize substantial cost savings over traditional demolition techniques while diverting significant quantities of wastes from landfills.

Fifteen Broad Street lies in the heart of Wall Street, overlooking the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall. Containing over one million square feet of floor space, the 42-story building which previously housed a banking operation is being converted into 250 luxury condominiums.

Deconstruction is simply construction in reverse, an environmentally friendly and cost effective alternative to conventional demolition. In the case of 15 Broad, the salvage of building components was achieved by systematically dismantling the items in the reverse order to which they were installed. To date raised floor systems from computer rooms, carpet tiles, ceiling tiles, UPS systems, switchgear, furniture and artwork have been salvaged.

The developer, A.I. Boymelgreen, commissioned Environmentally Sustainable Design Solutions (ESDS) of New York, to oversee the deconstruction of 15 Broad Street. “This project is a perfect model of the opportunity we have here in New York City to reach developers and owners and make significant progress in reducing waste,” says Ann Marie Aguilar, president of ESDS.

Demolition, renovation and construction projects generate vast amounts of waste. In New York City, an estimated 1.8 million tons of waste was removed from residential and commercial construction sites in 2003. To date, the deconstruction of 15 Broad Street diverted over 683,000 square feet of material weighing 1,211 tons from landfills.

Most of the construction and demolition waste generated in New York is trucked to waste transfer stations in the city before being transported to landfills. The traffic, noise, dust and emissions resulting from the hauling and processing of waste adversely affects neighborhoods adjacent to transfer stations, a disproportionate number of which are located in the South Bronx and other poor, minority neighborhoods. Salvaging materials from 15 Broad Street not only decreased the project’s carting and landfill fees, but also reduced the associated pollution in neighborhoods destined to receive the waste.

In addition to reducing the waste going to landfills, the reuse and recycling of materials from 15 Broad Street is saving energy and conserving resources. “Think about how much energy, labor and other resources go into making new building materials,” says Jim Primdahl, president of the Deconstruction Management Group. “The whole beauty of the deconstruction process is that it keeps materials out of landfills and maintains their value.”

While enthusiastic about the environmental benefits of deconstruction, Aguilar is realistic about what motivates developers. “Companies want to save money. They may not be focused on green design or reducing materials going to landfills,” said Aguilar. “It is really about educating the demolition contractors. You need to show them the savings.”

Case studies of deconstruction projects around the U.S. are showing savings. Deconstruction costs are averaging 30 to 50 percent less than demolition costs. To evaluate the cost effectiveness of deconstruction, the Center for Construction and the Environment at the University of Florida deconstructed 6 wood frame residences in 2000. The study found deconstruction costs to be 37 percent lower than demolition costs. Beyond Waste’s costs for deconstructing a building in San Francisco’s Presidio totaled $53,000 but generated sales revenues from salvaged materials of $43,655 yielding a net cost of $9,345. Demolition of the site was estimated at $16,800.

The deconstruction at 15 Broad is producing substantial financial benefits to the developer. Materials salvaged from the building were successfully marketed to commercial entities or donated to nonprofits. The slightly higher labor costs of deconstruction were offset by substantial reductions in carting costs and landfill fees. “Overall savings to the developer are close to $490,000 or average around 49 cents per square foot,” says Aguilar.