Recycled building materials reduce the use of natural resources.

“When a material runs its course and becomes obsolete, whether because of wear and tear, a change of style, a tear-down, or a remodel, many are tempted to simply toss it into a scrap heap and send it to the landfill. In the grand majority of cases, however, these materials can be repaired, recycled, and reused in a vast array of creative endeavors“ writes Belén Maiztegui for ArchDaily.

Sustainable architecture seeks to promote environmental conservation and sustainability in building design and encompasses every aspect of planning and construction including energy-efficient appliances and lighting, efficient heating and cooling, water-saving plumbing, natural light, rainwater harvesting, landscaping with native vegetation, renewable energy resources, and the use of local materials to minimize transportation.

The practise of recycling of building materials is a less common but important way to reduce the use of natural resources. Adaptive re-use is the most obvious way to recycle as the materials are already on-site. But there are many recycled materials available to the sustainable architect or builder including reclaimed timber, recycled bricks, recycled copper, reclaimed stone and many other architectural elements. Sala Beckett, a Performing Arts Centre in Barcelona, Spain, is a good example of the recycling of architectural elements. Architects Flores & Pratsmadean made an inventory of over 100 plans and blue prints which catalogued everything from doors and windows to doorknobs and tiles in the old building which was to be replaced. They then incorporated these elements into the new project.

To get your creative juices flowing, these ten international projects show us some very imaginative ways to use reclaimed architectural elements: