Springfield building designed by Brause featured on 'This Old House'

The new EcoBuilding Bargains store in Springfield, designed by assistant professor of Architecture Caryn Brause, was featured Oct. 11 on the PBS program "This Old House" in an episode titled “Deconstruction & Design.”

The new 32,000-square-foot facility is the largest material reuse store in New England. Brause worked with the client to insure that the new store design would be consistent with the non-profit’s goals: to reuse valuable building materials, to make home improvement more affordable, and to create local jobs and provide job training.

A grant from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources supported the demonstration deep energy retrofit to reduce energy use and to be a high-profile model for transforming existing commercial buildings. Brause’s design aims to have the envelope not only improve the building’s performance, but also convey the non-profit’s goals to customers and passersby. Repurposed materials are the non-profit’s business and Brause featured these materials throughout the design.

EcoBuilding Bargains was also a stop on the recent Green Buildings Open House Tour, sponsored by the Northeast Sustainability Energy Association. The Green Buildings Open House, held annually in October, is the biggest sustainable energy event in the northeastern United States and showcased more than 500 buildings featuring energy efficient design and renewable energy systems.