D-Build Turns Old Buildings into New Furniture

When we tear down buildings, we usually just scrap the lumber, metal, and brick. It's pretty wasteful. The Syracuse, New York-based D-Build is an online community that's trying to change that by helping people salvage as much useful material from old buildings as possible and turn it into new furniture and other products.

D-Build has information about how to "deconstruct," rather than demolish, a building; an online marketplace where people can buy and sell salvaged material; and a complementary store for trading the beds and side tables craftsmen have made from it. The site is still small—there are only a handful of products available and they tend to be pricey—but the idea has powerful potential. Buying a table made from part of an old house not only saves resources and landfill space, but also gives you a connection to the history of our built environment.

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