Mix and Match: A Demonstration Pavilion for Upcycling Waste Lumber

Mix and Match is a demonstration pavilion that prototypes a design and fabrication process for utilizing waste lumber leftover from wood frame building construction. (Fig. 1) The project was exhibited as part of the Biomaterial Building Exposition curated by Katie MacDonald and Kyle Schumann at the University of Virginia School of Architecture in Spring 2022.1 The fabrication strategy was developed over the course of a year through discussions with commercial builders, a course workshop, and material mock-ups tested with undergraduate and graduate student research assistants from the University of Arkansas and the University of Virginia. By working between industry and the academy, the project considers how circular economic strategies of salvage and reuse can be overlaid on current conventional wood framing practices, and further explores how the reutilization of urban waste wood can inform new assemblies for wood construction.