Architects, artists, and designers gathered at the Roxian Theater in Pittsburgh for the Cee Jay Awards which celebrate material reuse in projects large and small. The event marked the 25th anniversary of Construction Junction, an organization that promotes conservation through the reuse of building materials. Leslie Montgomery, Green Building Alliance’s Vice President of Education & Communications, Bob Reppe, Vice President of Construction Junction and University Architect at Carnegie Mellon University, and Construction Junction’s Executive Director Mike Gable, presented the award for Best Example of Reclaimed Material in a New Construction Project to Waldorf School of Pittsburgh, Heartwood Annex, and Phipps Center for Sustainable Landscapes.

Heartwood Annex is a 1,000-square-foot standalone classroom for the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh. Designed to be net-zero energy-ready, the project incorporates many opportunities for students to discover and learn about sustainable design practices, including the integration of salvaged and reclaimed materials. The classroom exterior features a distinctive live-edge vertical wood rainscreen, milled by a local woodshop that salvages and processes urban treefall within Pittsburgh. An interior window seat, created with wood from a storm-damaged pin oak felled onsite, provides a much-loved sheltered nook for students to sit and read quietly while overlooking school grounds. Salvaged and repurposed materials and sustainably sourced plywood and milk paint used in the interior combine with plentiful natural light and ventilation from operable windows to create tactile opportunities for students to learn about sustainable design in a warm, supportive environment.