Creative approaches to using materials throughout this project have helped transform the renovation into a unique, sustainable building design laboratory.

Renewable Materials

• Biocomposite Casework and Countertops made from wheat straw, sunflower seed hulls, soy flour, and waste newspaper are used in the mailroom and vending area.
• 100% Wool Carpet composed of raw wool fiber from Australia and New Zealand is used in classrooms, offices, and hallways.
• Natural Cork Flooring made from the outer bark of the "cork oak" tree (harvested on a periodic basis leaving the tree unharmed) is used in the 2nd floor conference room.
• Pressed Aspen Fiber Acoustical Ceiling Tiles made from a fast-growing tree species that responds well to intensive management are used in the auditorium and hallway ceilings.
• Bamboo Flooring and Plywood made from a fast growing grass (maturing in an average of four years) that looks and behaves like a hardwood in the manufacturing process was installed as flooring on the new 4th floor and the plywood is used on the columns in the Ford Commons.
• All-Natural Linoleum Flooring consisting of linseed oil mixed with natural resins, cork, wood flour, and organic pigments, which is heated and applied to jute backing is used in the mailroom, vending area, and laboratories.
• Biocomposite casework and countertops, 100% wool carpet, Bamboo flooring and plywood

Recycled Materials

• Recycled Glass Tile composed of more than 55% recycled glass, primarily from airplane windshields, covers the bathroom walls and floors.
• HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene), a plastic sheet material manufactured from 100% post-consumer plastic, is used in all bathroom partitions and countertops.
• PET (polyethylene terephthalate)
• Upholstery Fabric (recycled polyester) made from plastic bottles is used on office furniture, panels, and auditorium chairs.
• Rubber Flooring made from a combination of recycled tire rubber and post-industrial colored rubber is used on all ground floor corridors.
• Recycled glass tile and high density polyethylene (HDPE), Rubber flooring, Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) upholstery fabric

Reused Materials

We made an extra effort to salvage and re-use a number of materials that were removed from the old building. In a conventional renovation, these materials would have been destined for the landfill even though they still have value as building materials. Current building methods do not provide the infrastructure for removing, storing, and cleaning/reprocessing materials as necessary.

• Timbers from the attic were re-milled for trim and furniture.
• Old doors were refinished.
• Bricks and pavers were cleaned and stored for re-use. The restrooms had windows that looked out to the courtyard (which is now the Ford Commons). For privacy, we filled these openings with salvaged brick.
• Casework and furniture were refinished.
• Chalkboards and whiteboards were salvaged and re-used in Dana classrooms.
• Windows in the courtyard wall were replaced during the renovation. All were donated to a local nonprofit Re-Use Center to sell. This diverted more than 3,000 pounds of material from the landfill!
• Timbers from Dana attic were turned into furniture, Bricks and pavers reused to fill in Ford Commons windows