Repurposed materials are the EcoBuilding Bargains’ business.  SITELAB Architecture + Design featured these materials throughout the design.

One example is the decorative parapet that adds warmth to the insulated metal panel facade. This will be constructed of locust, harvested onsite during the site preparation, run through the sawmill and returned to the site as lumber.

Customers will pass through the most obvious example of material reuse every day.  The vestibule is structured with recovered timbers and infilled with reused glazed sliding doors and repurposed material panels. The material panels show ways that repurposed materials can be used in different patterns and textures depending on the quantities available.

For example, sometimes EcoBuilding Bargains has a selection of Hardi-plank siding but doesn’t have enough to complete the entire wall of a project.  The vestibule shows how colors can be combined in different ways to work around this challenge.  One way might be to introduce stripes or create visual interest by using one color in different widths.  Another way might be to create a pattern of strips across an entire façade working with a selection of available colors.  Another panel shows slate, repurposed from a roof, now used as a wall material.

The vestibule serves as another hardworking element in the design.  It not only provides an airlock and transition from the outside to the new insulated building, but it teaches about repurposing by showing innovative methods for material reuse from the moment customers walk through the door.

I believe that every act of design can be a catalyst for building capacity – in individuals, families and communities.  The Center for EcoTechnology does this in so many ways.  Now their building can do it too!

Caryn Brause, Principal  SITELAB Architecture + Design

If the new EcoBuilding Bargains’ exterior grabs your attention as you whiz down Armory Street – that’s what we’re intending.  This is a high traffic corridor and not all the traffic will be coming to the store.  They may be curious about the new construction on Warwick Street.  We’d like them to know what’s up and be curious enough to stop by for a visit.  For returning customers used to finding the store on Albany Street, the arresting green and white exterior will orient them to the new location.

But the building’s design is not just about bringing in customers, it’s also about showing how you can give new life to an older inefficient building.  We definitely aim to show that repurposing older commercial buildings can be exciting!

This year, EcoBuilding Bargains, formerly known as the ReStore, changed its look. A new logo, a new name, and a new tagline – “recycled stuff from floors to doors” – were developed so that people would have a better sense of what the store offers.  Many design decisions — from the super-sized logo to the insulated metal panel colors to the recycled and repurposed materials in the vestibule — reinforce these exciting changes.

The exterior facade design highlights the most dramatic change in the building:  the use of 3” thick insulated metal panels to wrap the old brick warehouse. Although insulated metal panels are not uncommon on commercial buildings, you may be more familiar with them as the exterior cladding used for cold storage buildings and food processing plants.  Here they were combined with 7 ½” of repurposed roof insulation to economically create a new “envelope” for the older building.

From a design standpoint, the panels extend up at the corner and are wrapped by CET’s logos to increase visibility from the nearby intersection.   Working with the standard color choices, panel colors are varied to break down the scale of the building and to demonstrate a complete transformation into a modern, recognizable retail environment.

A guiding principle in all of my work is that every design move has to do double-duty.  In this case, we located the single “peek-a-boo” window for maximum impact. Due to structural and economic constraints, we were only allowed one window.

The location at the corner permits approaching visitors to see what’s happening inside.  Customers on the inside get a welcome view out to the newly-planted, colorful, and low-maintenance hillside.  At the same time, the thickness of the opening around the window reveals the layering of the new metal panels onto the old brick building.

The design goal was to have the envelope not only improve the building’s performance, but also convey the non-profit’s goals to customers and passersby.

Be sure to come by and check out the view!

Caryn Brause, Principal  SITELAB Architecture + Design

Greetings EcoBuilding Bargains friends!

In anticipation of the store’s Grand Opening Celebration, we thought we’d share some of the design decisions behind what you’ll see when you come for your visit.

If you’ve been reading this blog, you’ve read about some of the energy efficiency upgrades, including high performance insulation, heating and lighting, that will make this a national model for what you can do with an older, inefficient building.

SITELAB Architecture + Design has been working with the EcoBuilding Bargains team for the past fifteen months to make sure that your experience of the store is consistent with the non-profit’s innovative goals: to reuse valuable building materials, to make home improvement more affordable, and to create local jobs and provide job training.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be guest blogging to tell you the story of the building expansion.  I hope to meet you at the Grand Opening!

Caryn Brause, Principal   SITELAB Architecture + Design

Our presentation and tour highlighted the progress made in the construction of our new building, and pointed to all of the energy efficient features that will let us use about 60% less energy than a typical warehouse building of its size. We have a list of many of them in this handout.

22 News ran a story today about the event, you can see that here. The Republican/MassLive was also in attendance, you can read their article about our expansion here.

To see more photos from the event, check out our Facebook album.

Secretary Sullivan (EOEEA) addresses the crowd. Photo credit to Lesley Arak Photography.

John Majercak (Executive Director) shows an educational display that will be part of our new building. Photo credit to Lesley Arak Photography.

Besides keeping in line with our mission of reusing valuable materials, the attached vestibule helps to reduce heat escaping from the building, and is among many other energy efficient features in our construction.

R-value is a measure of thermal resistance. The bigger the number, the better the building insulation’s effectiveness.

The Tuff-R insulation panels (interior of garage bay)

Another shot of the interior wall facing the sales floor.

The old cement filled columns have been successfully removed, and shiny new columns have taken their place. Each column weighed about 2 tons and in addition to being cement filled, also contained another column within.

The new columns are hollow, but very durable steel. Although they will soon blend into the landscape once the store is filled with racking and products, their presence is symbolic of how quickly the interior of the building is progressing as construction continues.

A dissected look at the old column

A new column before it was installed

A new column after being installed