Circulating Matters

Circular Construction Lab
with Felix Heisel, Andrew Boghossian,
and Jasper Owen
Summer 2023

This project investigates the potential of establishing a local circular construction industry within New York State through the design of a digital database and pavilion. Materials utilized were reused from the Catherine Commons Deconstruction Project, which disassembled a 1910 residential building in Ithaca, NY. Originally installed at the 2022 Cornell Biennial, it has since been deconstructed, redesigned, and reconstructed for its new location at the sculpture park Art Omi, adhering to its design for disassembly.

Globally, the construction industry causes 50% of resource extraction and at least 40% of carbon dioxide emissions and solid waste production. In the United States, construction and demolition activities generate a staggering 600 million tons of debris annually. Circulating Matters explores how approaches for direct reuse of building components on a large scale can be developed and applied, using deconstruction with circular construction principles to create site-specific design.

The pavilion is sited in a tall grass field, at the intersection of two walking paths. This informed the few steps which reach above the grass level, allow for views of the landscape and neighboring pavilions, then touch back down on the two paths. The assembly featured tagging for each structural component that allow access to a digital database where specific dimensions and an interactive model.