The name says it all: ‘ScrapHouse‘ by Public Architecture- a green demonstration home built entirely of salvaged material on Civic Center Plaza adjacent to San Francisco City Hall. With walls sheathed with everything from street signs and shower doors to fire hoses and phonebooks, ScrapHouse is a sight to be seen.

Built in conjunction with World Environment Day 2005, ‘ScrapHouse illustrates the possibilities- as well as the challenges- of green building, recycling, and reuse,’ according to architect John Peterson, Founder of Public Architecture, the nonprofit organization that has coordinated the effort.

‘ScrapHouse is about much more than the materials though; it’s the product of unprecedented collaboration between local architects, artists, builders, contractors, and engineers,’ said Laurence Kornfield, chief building inspector for the City of San Francisco, who pitched the idea to Public Architecture in mid-April. The concept of ScrapHouse was conceived by a local documentary filmmaker, Anna Fitch, who came in contact with Kornfield, and soon after, Public Architecture. Fitch and her company, Building 39 Films, have captured every step of the way for a forthcoming documentary.

Over the course of just six weeks, an eclectic team of volunteers scoured Bay Area dumps and scrap yards, often discovering unused materials with the price tags still affixed. A group of architects, interior designers, landscape architects, lighting specialists, and metal fabricators gave these materials new life and ScrapHouse its final shape. Based on their design, ScrapHouse has all the amenities of a traditional American home: a kitchen, a bathroom, two bedrooms, a deck, and beautifully landscaped yard. The design is intentionally bold: an L-shaped layout, with a mezzanine-level bedroom, and a roof inverted like the wings of a butterfly.

Still, what is most intriguing about ScrapHouse is the creative use of previously discarded materials—most of which were destined for the landfill. On one wall, 500 old phonebooks, stacked vertically, provide both insulation and texture. Another room’s floor is tiled with leather scraps, leftover from upholstery jobs. For landscaping, day-old flowers from local outlets surround the house in hundreds of tiny vases cut from garden hoses, which protrude from the green grass lawn.

Led by Matarozzi & Pelsinger Builders as well as SF Garage, dozens of skilled laborers and other volunteers from around the Bay Area turned out to build ScrapHouse. Collectively, they drew curious stares from German tourists and other passersby. ‘There’s no such thing as ’scrap labor,’ noted Peterson. ‘This never would have happened without the leadership and generosity of the professional community, particularly Rudolph & Sletten and Shorenstein construction companies who provided crucial financial support.’

‘ScrapHouse is the epitome of reduce, reuse, and recycle,’ said Kornfield. ‘We thought it was a perfect way to celebrate World Environment Day, and to show how San Francisco is a world leader in terms of green cities.’

Photographs by Cesar Rubio Photography.