Building Lifecycle

CSKRECLAIM has evolved from the practice’s ongoing interest in the building life cycle, and the way in which buildings are part of a broader flow of material resources that are made and unmade over time. In this context, re-use is the crucial link that connects one building life cycle to another to create a circular economy. Understanding existing buildings and sites as material resource systems is key from the inception of projects – what can be retained and restored, what can be reused within the site and what can be reclaimed for use on concurrent projects or for future use.

in practice

CSKRECLAIM has developed organically from practices which have to date taken place instinctively - iroko worktops salvaged from a science department upgrade, encaustic floor tiles saved from a pub demolition, sanitaryware rescued from the skip during a domestic bathroom upgrade. This practice has now been formalised to benefit current and future clients as well as fundamentally feeding into our goal of a considerate and circular construction industry.

networks

CSKRECLAIM works with contacts made over many years within the construction industry. We look not only at our own sites but work with contractors and suppliers to utilise their wider resources. We also employ our knowledge of the wider salvage and antiques market to source specific pieces.

design character

CSKRECLAIM supports clients with an ambition to create individual bespoke spaces through the imaginative re-use of existing resources. As designers, we believe the conversation around ‘sustainability’ must be inseparable from architectural character, and that it is vital to find joy in the reclaim aesthetic. By curating and building with materials, fittings and artifacts which have a past life, we aim to create rich environments for the present and long into the future.