PlanetReuse

Greensburg, Kansas can no longer be best characterized as the town destroyed by a devastating tornado. Instead, the community is now known for  transcending tragedy to become a standard bearer for sustainable practices. The Greensburg School—designed to LEED Platinum standards—is no exception. The school includes geothermal HVAC systems, rainwater reuse and day-lighting along with a variety of reclaimed materials.

The Omega Institute Center for Sustainable Living, an environmental education center and wastewater treatment facility, is expected to be certified as the world’s first Living Building project, the highest measurable standard for sustainable design and construction. Using reclaimed materials is one of the purest ways to build green, and an important consideration for Living Building certification.

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts will have a dramatic and transformative impact on Kansas City, changing both the city’s skyline as well as the experience of artists and audiences throughout the region. The center itself is a nearly 285,000-square-foot facility with two performance venues: the 1,800-seat Muriel Kauffman Theatre and the 1,600-seat Helzberg Hall.

An acclaimed floral and event designer, Studio Dan Meiners spends every day working with natural, green materials. So when they considered ideas for the renovation of a 20,000-square-foot industrial space into a new studio, it was a foregone conclusion that the approach would reflect sustainable design and building practices. PlanetReuse began working with the architect early in the design phase to suggest options for materials reuse.  

The airy, open design incorporates salvaged materials to create a transparent separation between the studio’s retail and production areas, connecting the creative process and the finished process. Perforating the roof with skylights offers natural lighting.

The reuse of reclaimed material adds an extra layer of narrative and character to a project. Salvaged cypress used in the major renovation of this five-story building carries an especially poignant back story. The wood was originally used in small wooden cabins in Lettsworth, Louisiana that most likely housed slaves in the 1800s. Today, this material has new life in the headquarters of a progressive company in downtown Kansas City.

The rich look and history inherent in salvaged materials can make a big difference on efforts of any scope. For a large playroom expansion, a Kansas family exploring reclaimed materials fell in love with sinker reclaimed cypress. Sinker materials are those that have been submerged for a number of years, in this case, in a Louisiana bayou for more than a century. For a cohesive visual look, the design team used the material in several ways, as flooring, wall panels and on the pitched ceiling in the interior, and for balconies on the exterior of the addition.  

The cypress showed an astounding range of subtle colors from the minerals absorbed while underwater. The client felt the material—with its heritage, story and natural beauty—was a fitting match for a space that would sustain their children’s imagination for years to come.

The Power & Light District has played a significant role in revitalizing Kansas City’s downtown. But in bringing citizens something new, the entertainment district also honors the city’s history, from the renovation of the historic Midland Theatre to the commitment Johnny’s Bar and Restaurant made to incorporate salvaged materials. Reclaimed wood from the Kansas City's Union Station is used for the restaurant’s 38 tabletops.

PlanetReuse collaborated with Kansas City’s ReStore to salvage the materials, allowing the store to accept commercial materials and quantities they ordinarily wouldn’t have been able to accommodate. After reworking the flooring into usable 4-foot-square panels, the PlanetReuse teams offered the materials to 360 Architects for use in the project.    

The adaptive reuse of an existing car dealership building into a bank and restaurant provided a strong framework for creativity and sustainability, and the design team took advantage. Instead of establishing a typical drive-through for the bank tenant, the team expanded the area around the existing dealership garage door to create a drive through that actually takes bank customers through the building.