Construction Junction, Pittsburgh

susan ross

A highlight of the Deconstruction and Reuse 2019 Conference* in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was the field trip to Construction Junction. This massive salvaged building materials, appliances and furniture company located in the Homewood neighbourhood of Pittsburgh, is a veritable community repair and reuse hub. The building houses Project-Re and the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, amongst other organizations focused on bringing community needs, reuse and creativity together. The tour involved explanations by just a few of the over 30 dedicated and knowledgeable employees. According to the CJ website, for every 1,000 tons of material, recycling and reuse generate nearly twice as many jobs (4.7) as disposal (2.5). *Organized by Build Reuse, formerly Building Materials Reuse Association.

Firmly anchored in the not-for-profit salvage model, CJ also hosts CJReGives, which donates materials and furniture to other organizations. “Preference is given to environmentally sustainable building projects, art installations, theater productions, community gardens and the material needs of social service organizations.” The combination of charity, redesign and resale covers a range of economic, cultural and environmental approaches to reuse.

While CJ sells a salvaged historic doorway, Project-Re demonstrates reuse for panelled doors.
Local reuse data – more impact data like this is need for research and policy!
Stories of provenance are proudly displayed for furniture made from reclaimed bowling alley wood lanes.

The architectural salvage industry has been criticized for its limited impact on broader demolition waste, the potential competition for fragments with whole building conservation, and even the contribution to urban gentrification of novelty product lines. Arguably, as demonstrated by Construction Junction and its many initiatives, architectural salvage can instead be seen as an increasingly vital aspect of developing a culture of repair, providing contexts for training trades and designers in historic materials repair and reuse, while facilitating community access to low-cost and often high quality materials. 

Text and photos by Susan Ross. Originally posted December 29, 2019.

For a follow up see Sites of Material Exchange, April 6, 2021.