Deconstruction open house and community take-away event Saturday

DePauw University's slow-motion deconstruction of the house located next to the former site of the campus farm (1521 W. CR 225 South) has continued through the 2017-18 academic year. As part of this year's Earth Week celebrations, community members are invited to visit the project and help themselves to reclaimed materials for reuse in their own DIY home improvement or creative projects at no cost -- but for information about what they intend to do with them.

Deconstruction of the house located next to the former site of the DePauw University campus farm (1521 W. CR 225 South) has continued through the 2017-18 academic year. It will be the scene of an open house and community take-away effort on Saturday afternoon.

Professors Jim Mills (Geosciences) and Jen Everett (Philosophy, Environmental Fellows Program) and facilities engineer Chris Hoffa have led several hands-on courses with the goal of learning how much of the house can be salvaged for reuse and recycling.

Fifteen students worked on the house as part of their first-year seminar last fall, successfully removing two rooms that had been added onto the house in the 1980s.

One group from the seminar researched the history of the property, discovering that a house existed on the parcel as early as 1864, owned by the Albaugh family. Another group worked with Lisa Mock, executive director of the Putnam County Museum, to create a museum exhibit featuring wood framing, plaster, lathe and wallpaper from the house.

"That course was a great adventure in discovering how practical a liberal arts education can be," Everett said. "Students conducted original research and produced final products that mattered beyond our classroom. What made the biggest impression on them was connecting with family members who have a history in the house and in Putnam County."

Four of the students currently deconstructing the house -- Christian Hauter, Olivia Jackson, Travis Owen and Shelby Schoen -- are first-year students who opted to continue their work into a second semester.

Hauter describes the deconstruction project as a mind altering experience. "My first impression of the house was, 'Wow, what's the purpose of deconstructing this house, it's all trash.' But I began to realize that this wasn't just a moldy house, it was once a home to many different people. I began to respect my work at the house, thinking about how I would want people to treat my room at home if it were getting deconstructed. I started thinking about the house not as what if it was or used to be, but what it can still be.

"The shingles, OSB, tulip poplar studs, floor boards and stuff can still be repurposed or recycled," Hauter added. "And I started to realize how much toxic, un-recyclable materials were in the houses that we live in."

Senior Annie Dixon, who was part of the original group that began emptying the house in January 2017, is now designing a website to document the project as a whole. "I rejoined the project to see it through to completion," Dixon said. "Plus I am developing skills that will serve me long after I leave DePauw."

Rescued items will be made available for community members to pick up this coming Saturday, April 21 from 1-3 p.m. Items include lumber, vinyl siding, paneling, ceiling tiles, a few sinks, light fixtures and other miscellaneous items.

The remainder of the structure is scheduled to be disassembled this summer.