The Overture Center construction is starting off on a \green"" foot according to a presentation given by Sonya Newenhouse, President of the Madison Environmental Group, Inc., to the Madison Cultural Arts District Board Tuesday.
Rather than simply demolishing six buildings to make way for the new Overture Center, the board chose to take a ""greening deconstruction"" approach. The program provided goods to nonprofit organizations while protecting the environment, said Newenhouse.
Newenhouse's group worked with the nonprofit WasteCap Wisconsin to create a plan to reuse and recycle materials from the doomed buildings. The project was the first of its kind undertaken in Madison and in the end, 74 percent of the materials were reused and recycled Newenhouse said.
Board member Ald. Kent Palmer, District 15, who is a former canvas director for Greenpeace, called the project an enormous success.
""This is a shining example to other people in the city and state of just what can be done,"" he said.
According to Newenhouse, nonprofit groups with the ability to hold or sell the large building materials were chosen from within the Madison community. Groups like Habitat for Humanity, the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the New Teen Loft Center were invited to two ""tagging days"". The nonprofit groups were given tours of the site and allowed to tag any items they wanted, from carpeting to light fixtures and doors.
The New Loft Teen Center was given highest priority because it was previously located at the site, Newenhouse said. Among the $6,000 worth of materials it took were French doors and a security gate from the site. Habitat for Humanity took 4.7 tons of material, including oak flooring, a copy machine, and furniture. The remaining materials were recycled if possible.
Newenhouse said the center avoided more than $28,000 in landfill costs thanks to the program.
""The Overture did this without knowing if it would save them money,"" Newenhouse said.
George Austin, president of the Overture Foundation, said the project grew out of the lobbying of ""many individuals and organizations in Madison that advocate green building projects."" He added that the Madison Environmental Group was a natural choice because of it's location in the Madison community and the ""expertise and energy it had to offer.""
""There was some risk going into it'we took the leap of faith. [I hope this] will show to others that these risks are worth taking,"" he said.
Sherrie Gruder of the UW Extension Solid/Hazard Waste Bureau, which advised the project, said she hopes the success of the project will be an example to UW in its future construction projects.
""The UW builds a lot of buildings both on the Madison campus and on other campuses. I hope this will be a good model for [UW-Madison],"" she said.
