PROJECT STRATEGIES AND HIGHLIGHTS CASE STUDY
COMMUNITY LANDMARK AND ANCHOR Building reuse has huge impacts in reducing carbon emissions, largely through emissions avoided. If this project were built entirely new, in just the short time it would take to construct the building, about 2600 tons of CO2 would have been emitted associated with the construction of the new building. Instead, reusing an existing, vacant, under utilized structure, and building a small addition, 450 tons CO2 will be associated with this project’s upfront carbon. That difference represents an 80% reduction in embodied carbon - on a short timeline. When time is critical to reductions, building reuse proves to be a significantly successful path to embodied carbon management. The building was closed and vacant since before Katrina, and had been written off as unusable for years. With a strong vision for the building’s potential, the design team was able to take a blighted building, honor historical nature of the existing structure, and build a vision for a community anchor. Historic tax credits help to fund and promote use of existing buildings. Benefits of using existing infrastructure and approach through various lenses, be it preserving history and heritage, minimizing environmental impacts, or incentives like tax credits. Using all of these influences to tell a complete story and transform an eyesore into beautiful, functional design is an example of holistic, sustainable architecture.