Event Description
At VISION, panelists discussed the local and regional future of building materials reuse by inviting dialogue on the topics of: labor and workforce development; adaptive reuse and community resilience; industry accreditation; and policy advancement and implementation. Attendees were offered an opportunity to envision a robust reuse economy and what it might take to get there.
Discussion Prompt:
What role can salvaged materials play in the Chicago region's sustainable growth and development?
Panelists
"Living Buildings challenge us not only to be innovative but to reduce environmental burdens from the extraction, processing and disposal of materials and turn "waste" into the valuable resource that it is."
"Chicago, like all cities, is constantly reinventing itself; my challenge is to put a hand into that flow of materials and see if I can extract some value by turning old stuff into new things."
Anne Nicklin
Founder
Reuse Studio
"It's important to consider reuse in new construction when the existing materials and site conditions offer solutions to project priorities."
"The reuse of materials is necessary to ease the inflating cost of construction while delivering products that increase opportunities for Chicago to build thriving neighborhoods."
"With dwindling natural resources and a need to find meaningful employment for our at-risk population, the expansion of workforce training in deconstruction is a no brainer."
Moderator
Venue
PLANT CHICAGO's mission is to develop circular economies of food production, energy conservation and material reuse, while empowering people of all backgrounds to make their cities healthier and more efficient. PC is hosted at The Plant, an innovative, industrial-scale adaptive reuse project in Back of the Yards. The Plant is an excellent example of reuse at work. VISION will be hosted in Plant Chicago's community room.
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