reclaimed

‘the stubborn allure of old buildings, and their mysteries.’

A volunteer fire helmut, news fragments, a roofing trawl, a child’s dress and a few yards of silk fabric – salvaged material culture.

Reclaimed Redwood Stretch at City Park

| Featured

It can seem as though lighter woods cold bend (as opposed to steam bending) more readily, but looking at wood properties, the correlation between wood density and modulus of elasticity is not strong. So it seems as though woods that cold bend more easily has to do with how readily the actual cell structure of the wood deforms to accommodate the bending. But density does seem to play a role here at Washington Sq. Park where woods needed to be bolted in an arcing form that followed the perimeter of the facade. Reclaimed wine tank Redwood with an Elastic Modulus of 1,220,000 lbf/in² was used in place of reclaimed boardwalk Ipe, measuring in at 3,200,000 lbf/in^2.

Spring Break

| Passive House

There’s a break as work awaits DOB approval. The house is quiet. But in the backyard, three trees are preparing to bloom, all planted by the previous owner – White Birch, Japanese Weeping Willow and Pitch Pine (though related species or hybrids may have the same two- needle pattern). Wildly different trees, but all providing the same passive and dynamic benefits – blocking heat in the summer, shedding leaves in winter to let in the sunshine, and much more.