Construction and demolition debris from buildings represents over 100 million tons each year and more than 60% ends up in landfills. Processes are not yet established to recapture building products intact.
High turnover commercial interiors mean valuable materials are going to waste. To strategize around this complex issue, CRTKL hosted a virtual CoLab workshop connecting a diverse group of industry experts. The cross-discipline discussion focused on reducing waste in retail architecture. Traditional sustainability challenges of retail actually create prime starting points to map new pathways for existing materials. Participants included retailers, policymakers, contractors, materials management specialists, skills training and equitable development, technology platforms, and design professionals – enabling a 360-perspective and broad range of insights.
The dialogue uncovered opportunities for action across key themes:
- Connecting people and networks for collective knowledge and power
- Redefining the rules and agreements that shape practices downstream
- Countering the hurdles of cost and time through partnership and demand
- Leveraging innovative business models to fill supply chain gaps
- Planning ahead by design for disassembly in projects and process
Our teams are applying these findings to both existing spaces and future design. CRTKL is advaning deconstruction strategies, responsible sourcing, and reuse by design in the pursuit of zero waste retail.