AEC Cares Project DC designed and built sustainably

AEC Cares made good on its commitment to transform spaces and lives last week in Washington, D.C. During its annual Day of Service, AEC Cares partnered with Sasha Bruce Youthwork to renovate the Residential Empowerment Adolescent Community Home (REACH), a home for boys ages 12 to 17 awaiting trial and in need of some additional support.

During a one-day building blitz on June 5, about 100 volunteers came together to renovate the property in Capitol Hill.

AEC Cares is a not-for-profit organization that brings together members of the architecture, engineering and construction industries and is made possible by the donations of sponsors and donors, including founding member and primary organizer ConstructConnect as well as pro bono design and general contractor team members.

Renovation efforts focused on creating a homelike environment for the young residents of REACH and creating spaces to support the home’s mission to provide an alternative to institutionalization through individual, group and family counseling, educational remediation, life skills coaching and self-esteem building, indicates a release.

CONSTRUCTCONNECT — The building blitz included renovating the redesigned facility and making the space more homelike for residents. This year there was a focus on sustainable design and construction.

For this year’s project, there was also a focus on incorporating sustainable building products.

The newly redesigned home includes donated, repurposed furniture from ConstructConnect, overstock flooring and low-VOC paint used throughout the property.

The project also incorporated materials that can go through multiple life cycles and avoided the use of single use plastic bottles on the construction site.

“Like others in the industry, AEC Cares is committed to diverting as much waste as possible from ending up in landfills, including designing and building in a way that uses recycled materials,” said Jennifer Johnson, president of AEC Cares and ConstructConnect chief product officer, in a statement. “We are thrilled to be able to incorporate sustainable building principles as we work to make Sasha Bruce Youthwork’s REACH property a more hospitable environment for its young residents.”

Follow the author on X/Twitter @DCN_Angela.