D-Build.org: Connecting the Deconstruction Industry Through Technology and Storytelling
Rob Englert
Grant Meacham
Abstract:
Houses and buildings that are slated to be torn down are more than just collections of materials, they
are places where families and people have lived and worked; they are parts of communities. Through
deconstruction, not only can materials be reclaimed, but history can be preserved, where the past can
live on through the reuse of materials. D-Build.org acts as a central hub, focusing on creating a network
of materials, buildings, people, products, and communities, where all the players have equal weight, and
storytelling is used to increase the perceived value of salvaged materials. Products and architecture,
along with their source-reclaimed materials are all embedded with a QR code, that when snapped
directs users to an interactive narrative of the object’s history, detailing all of the places and people it
has touched, dynamically growing and changing as it lives on and its network grows. D-Build fosters
communication between people, companies, and organizations, providing the platform where they can
connect, providing a centralized marketplace where they can sell salvaged materials and products,
creating a unified platform to help all those in the deconstruction and salvage industry. Education is one
of the key strategies employed by D-Build, and one of the means through which it is practiced is the
blog, where topics effecting reuse and deconstruction, along with technology, culture, and policy are
written about and discussed on a daily basis. In addition, D-Build is facilitating a series of large scale
examples, which demonstrate the power and potential of deconstruction and reuse, along with building
a historical and ongoing materials and architectural narrative. D-Build is also deploying a mobile app,
along with an updated desktop site, to make listing and finding reclaimed and salvaged materials and
products as easy as possible, while implementing an innovative user interface that emphasizes the
interconnected, collaborative, and narrative elements of reuse. D-Build aims to open up and
democratize the deconstruction and reclaimed materials industry, and offer wider engagement and a
lower barrier of entry, educating people about the possibilities of deconstruction and reuse, and then
providing them with the necessary tools to act.
Bio:
Robert Englert
Rob Englert is the principal and founder of Ram Industrial Design, Inc. Rob taught at Syracuse University
for ten years, holds over 30 patents, and has designed everything from flashlights to aircraft seating. He
received his BFA in ID from the Columbus College of Art & Design, and his MFA in ID from the Rochester
Institute of Technology.
Grant Meacham
Grant Meacham is an Industrial & Interaction Designer at Ram Industrial Design. He holds a Bachelors of
Industrial Design and Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering from Syracuse University. Grant now also
teaches at Syracuse University, in the Industrial and Interaction Design department.
D-Build grew out of Ram Industrial Design, when the issue of vacant housing in Syracuse and around the
country was approached from a design thinking perspective.