In May 2007, the town of Greensburg, Kansas was destroyed by a tornado estimated to have been larger than the city itself. While developing a rebuilding plan, sustainability came to be a foundational philosophy of a vision for a renewed city. That vision married the residents’ shared community values with an ambitious plan for environmental stewardship.

The city’s new K-12 school embodies these ideals by creating an educational center in a LEED Platinum building bursting with sustainable design features.  The youth of Greensburg now share a single building that includes K-12 classrooms, distance-learning classrooms, community spaces, and athletic facilities.  Planet ReUse, a reuse brokerage, helped to source reclaimed materials such as the 3,600 board feet of exterior wood siding which came from cypress trees destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, as well interior wood paneling, wood planks for outdoor walkways, and wood structural members used to create bridges along the walkways.  All together, the use of reclaimed materials saved the project 30% over the cost of new materials.

Reclaimed Materials (by application): Wood/Lumber

Key Info
Location: Greensburg, KS
Date of Completion: 2010
Architect: BNIM Architects and ATS&R Architects
Client: City of Greensburg & USD 422 School District
Contractor: McCown Gordon Construction

Learn more
US Department of Energy Report