Internationalist Bookstore: Deconstructed

The former Internationalist Books building at 408 Rosemary St. in Chapel Hill will be taken down in reverse order of construction, a process termed "deconstruction," in order to salvage the usable components and minimize the amount of material dumped in the landfill. The site will be the future location of the new Dip's Restaurant. Dip's owner Mildred Council's support for an environmentally friendly approach to the demolition process was instrumental in making this happen. As owner of Marcoplos Construction, I have engaged in construction practices, commonly referred to as "green building," that are designed to have a minimal impact on the environment. Energy-efficient and resource-efficient building techniques, now generally considered to be unconventional, in the coming years will be recognized as standard, mainstream methods.

Deconstruction and utilization of used materials is an important component of an emerging green building approach. It is expected that nearly everything except the shingles, drywall, and some damaged windows can be salvaged for re-use. This includes the framing lumber, roof and floor sheathing, siding, ceiling bead-board, moulding, bricks, and pine flooring.

Marcoplos Construction will keep an account of the salvaged and disposed materials so that the local economics of deconstruction can be better understood. The expectation is that it will prove to be economically and environmentally prudent. The hope is that local government solid waste and recycling agencies will take an active role in engaging the local green building community as well as working aggressively with developers to prevent entire buildings from ending up in the landfill.