Reclaimed Lumber Benches
in
Client:Sunpower
Mission: Make this pile of old lumber into new benches.
Services: Design, Fabrication, Project Management, Construction Management.
As Sunpower was renovating it’s new office in the old Ford manufacturing building in Richmond, CA, they made a huge effort to keep as much of the existing materials as possible.
This huge pile of lumber was taken out of the building and slated for the dump, when we stepped in with help from Sunpower to reclaim the wood for something useful.
We decided that benches were the most feasible idea to use the lumber and keep costs down. We had the wood milled down and discovered a beautiful Douglas Fir glue lam, not far beneath the weathered exterior.
The wood was milled and the benches put together by Joinery Structures, here in West Oakland.
We designed the benches to be 20ft long. This was the most efficient use of the material, keeping it mostly in its found state of long huge planks of wood.
Working with Sunpower, we came up with 2 bench designs, one the simple and elegant long bench, the other this bookcase - bench. The bottom shelf for books and the top shelf for books or as a bench.
The massive quality of the benches fit right into the old Ford Plant building.
We helped not only with saving this beautiful lumber from an early retirement, but also with the management of getting the final 20ft long pieces into the second floor of the building.
The benches had to be lifted by fork lift through a small opening on the second floor. It took a team of people to get these massive pieces into place.
It was well worth saving this lumber for these beautiful benches. The wood softens the massive warehouse feel, and the benches add to a wonderful story of reclaiming this old building into a new and vibrant place.
