In 2016 the city of Portland has issued a mandatory destruction ordinance to recover valuable materials from old buildings, thus breaking out from the linear built environment production system.

Half of the extracted materials in the world are used for buildings and the construction industry, turning materials into a major waste stream.

To tackle this issue, some cities have enabled the reuse of building components, such as Portland in the USA. With the Portland and Multnomah County Climate Action Plan, the municipality is promoting alternatives to traditional building demolition, by relocating, deconstructing, and salvaging the materials instead. This approach is enabled by the removal of barriers and disincentives, with the city providing technical assistance, training, and resources to contractors. In 2016, the city adopted a mandatory deconstruction ordinance, through the amendment of the Buildings Law Code, allowing to yield reusable materials from houses and duplexes built before 1916, which are a rich source of valuable lumber.

This resulted in a mandatory reuse of building materials and answered to the strong demand for salvaged material in Portland. The ordinance reinforced the existing robust reuse culture in Portland and the local design aesthetic that favours salvaged materials.

Photo by Sean Oulashin on Unsplash