Recycling in the U.S. may have peaked during WWII. Even the nations cigarette wrappers (made of lead) were neatly pressed into piles for re-melting into bullets. Other scrap, especially steel, was in high demand for the war , which resulted in an exchange of steel for timber in some construction. That was the case at Port Newark, NJ, where Sawkill Lumber recently salvaged huge Doug Fir timbers (12 x 12 x 40’ and 12 x 16 x 36’), which framed a c.1942 storage warehouse (stretching three football fields!). Doug Fir has a remarkable strength to weight ratio (the highest ratings of any western softwood – in bending, tension and compression), a warm reddish-brown figure, and is easily milled. And reclaimed, there’s added reason to salute this WWII era veteran, re-enlisted in the fight for sustainability. (photos: WWII poster, Port Newark, NJ, Boulder, CO).

People uprooted from far away and extreme places on earth often find a home in New York City.  The same is also true for the materials that surround them. Take an old growth Cypress ceiling recently installed in a lower Manhattan interior. The wood (Bald Cypress:Toxodium distichum) originated in the dense swamps of the South, slow growing (among the slowest aging trees on earth) over seven hundred years. The soaring trees were then cut down for lumber in the early 20th c, and then milled, in this instance, for storage tanks – wine, brandy and whiskey.

The architect, Tonos Design Studio, appeals to our nostalgia with these vintage woods, while reversing our expectations, designing a modern arch that also suggests the woods prior use as barrel staves. The warmth of the woods amber grain, subtle signs of age (occasional nail holes, subtle stress cracks and variety of color) and the intimacy of this vaulted form, come together in uniting two spaces, setting the tone for an intoxicating architectural experience. The architect had the material milled to the exact spec, with clear calculations and instructions provided to the contractor, limiting site waste and labor.

But the initial material choice came from the clients, seeking out the sublime beauty of reclaimed swamp Cypress, along with it’s sustainability. Sam Tonos, a Mississippi native (of some years back), may have equally been drawn to the woods Southern roots.

The Eastern White Pine is the tallest Pine in North America, with a crucial historical role in the American Revolution. Growing straight to heights of 150 to 240 feet, and yielding lumber that was light, strong, machinable, and resistant to rot. It was popular for a range of uses, from residential to commercial and countless day-to-day items. Eastern White Pine truly shaped early America…and it’s Revolution.
Eastern White Pine became the choice material for ship masts and other critical shipbuilding components. To maintain its Empire, Great Britain needed the strongest and fastest ships and Eastern White Pine made these vessels a battle force.
As a result, King George I wanted to ensure that the very best of these trees were kept for the British Navy. The tallest White Pines were emblazoned with a mark that became known as the King’s Broad Arrow, a move that rankled colonists.
The Revolutionary War was provoked by many factors, but some historians believe that denial of use of the Eastern White Pine was at least as instrumental as taxation of tea in bringing about the American Revolution. In fact, the Eastern White Pine was the emblem emblazoned on the first colonial flag. Adapted from The King’s Broad Arrow and the Eastern White Pine at http://www.nelma.org

Today – Earth Day- marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

The height of hippie and flower-child culture in the United States, 1970 marked the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. Protest still ruled the day. At the time, Americans were burning leaded gas through massive V8 engines. And industry released smoke and sludge into the air and waters with little fear of legal consequence or bad press.

Although mainstream America had little response to environmental concerns, the stage was set for change by the publication of Rachel Carson’s New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962, which raised public awareness and concern for the environment and public health.

The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin,Inspired by the teach-ins formed to protest the Vietnam War, after witnessing the massive 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Senator Nelson, an environmental activist, took a leading role in organizing the celebration, starting at universities, and hoping to demonstrate popular political support for an environmental agenda. American Heritage Magazine called the first Earth Day “one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy.”

As a result, on the 22nd of April, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in coast-to-coast rallies. Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, gaining support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city people and farmers. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the EPA and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.