For the past five years, the MSU Domicology team has worked with a wide array of stakeholders to develop innovative policies and practices that allow communities to leverage positive social, economic, and environmental impacts by harnessing the value of materials present in abandoned and blighted structures via the process of deconstruction. As an alternative to conventional structural demolition, deconstruction offers substantial benefit to communities in terms of job creation and economic opportunity, substantial embodied energy and carbon savings via material reuse, increased access to affordable reclaimed/used building materials, and the opportunity for a wider range of public/private partnerships.

 

With generous support from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), the Domicology team has embarked on a new endeavor that brings together leading thinkers and doers in the world of deconstruction and material reuse to develop and support on-the-ground deconstruction and material reuse initiatives across the state – the Michigan Deconstruction Collaborative (MDC). The MDC is currently focused on supporting the development of a dedicated deconstruction and material reuse facility serving the broader Kentwood-Grand Rapids-Muskegon MSA by providing technical assistance, networking, feasibility research, and logistical support.