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By Barbara Knecht
Planning ahead
Another university-practitioner partnership
is creating a school designed for dyslexic children in California.
Bradley Guy from the Penn State University Hamer Center for
Community Design in Philadelphia and Scott Shell of EHDD Architecture
in San Francisco are using a grant from the EPA to explore
strategies and details for Design for Disassembly at the Chartwell
School in Seaside (Monterey County), California. The exploration
began with a matrix (see chart on page 188) of likely and
typical construction materials and components, an analysis
of their characteristics that rates ease of recovery and value
after recovery. The chart of variables was a guide for material
selection in the design of the building. Wood was selected
for the structural framing. It is widely used in California
and has a high economic value, but typical wood construction
can be labor intensive to salvage and reuse. Design for Deconstruction
suggests that connections should be simple, and fasteners
should enable disassembly. One of the explorations at the
Chartwell School that Shell and Guy have undertaken is how
to keep to that principle and meet the requirements for building
in earthquake zones.
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| The Chartwell School
(bottom) received an EPA grant to research
Design for Disassembly strategies. As shown
in the section (below), utilities are segregated
from wood framing to allow for easier disassembly
and to reduce holes in the framing, thereby
increasing future salvage value. The Design
for Disassembly window detail (right and diagram,
below right) allows the window to be replaced
by simply removing the wood trim, and without
disturbing the adjacent finishes. |
Image: Courtesy
Ehdd Architecture (top), and © Gerald
Ratto (bottom) |
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Shell’s earlier experience in school
modernization sparked a particular interest in solving the
problem of periodic window replacements. Typically, the cement
plaster that encases the windows has to be destroyed, along
with their weather tightness, to remove them. A simple window
replacement for a large school would routinely grow into a
major construction project that could not be completed during
a summer break. Students would be moved to portable classrooms,
and the whole process was a classic example of wasted materials,
time, and money. To reduce time, the windows at Chartwell
are detailed for disassembly with a minimum of waste. Similarly,
the wood siding is fastened with clips that are screwed into
the backing for ease of disassembly.
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