MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.—Room & Board and Room & Board Business Interiors, the home furnishing brand’s commercial arm, announce the expansion of the Urban Wood Project—their groundbreaking national initiative that sources wood otherwise destined for landfills and reclaims it into unique furnishings. The brand is now partnering with Brooklyn-based millwork and design operation, Tri-Lox, to upcycle wood culled from decommissioned New York City water towers and salvaged local trees for an exclusive line of sustainable offerings suitable for hospitality and office spaces.
This collaboration, their sixth in the country, builds on Room & Board’s diversion of 200 trees annually from the waste stream, delivering on their mission to produce built-to-last furniture through sustainable practices that prioritize American craftsmanship. This launch will mark over 20 pieces from their Urban Wood Project, which has collectively rescued 180,000 board feet of lumber from landfills, much of which is old growth lumber that is no longer available anywhere.
“Overseeing the expansion of the Urban Wood Project and finding unique partners like Tri-lox is one of the greatest pleasures of my tenure at Room & Board,” says Vice President of Merchandising & Vendor Management, Gene Wilson. “Working with companies that are making a tangible environmental impact in their communities and building these new products furthers Room & Board’s sustainability mission, which focuses on how our furnishings can be better for people and the planet.”
Wooden water towers have been landmarks on the NYC skyline for over a century, and while they may look like relics from the past among modern architecture, these structures continue to be an integral part of the clean water supply for the city. There are an estimated 17,000 wooden water tanks in New York City that each hold 10,000 gallons of drinking and bathing water for the city’s residents. These wooden tanks are far more efficient, less expensive, and easier to maintain than their steel counterparts, but due to the untreated wood, the structures only last 30 to 35 years before needing replacement. Tri-Lox is preserving these high-quality and cost-efficient materials through a process of milling, culling, and stabilizing the raw material that ultimately creates a circular wood system and utilizes the most climate-positive practices.
‘A Model for a Circular Wood Economy’
“We extend the life of wood by manufacturing and integrating the material into products. This is a model for a circular wood economy that embraces re-use, reduces carbon emissions, and supports the well-being of forests and people,” says Alexander Bender, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Tri-Lox. “For us, design is a collaborative process with our surrounding environment. The line with Room & Board will keep wood from both deconstruction sites and salvaged trees from going to landfill, which is both meaningful and comprehensive when it comes to a circular system that addresses both reclaimed and fresh cut wood from the urban context.”
The first products in the collection are the Milbridge Tabletop Frames and Stanley Wall Shelf. The shelving units are available in 24, 36 or 48″ wide sizes, with three reclaimed wood finish options including natural oak, oak with white stain, or oak with charcoal stain. All sizes are 7” deep and can support 20 lbs on their surface, thanks to sturdy powder-coated steel mounting brackets.
Begun in Baltimore in 2017 with a starting initiative between Room & Board and the USDA Forest Service, Room & Board’s Urban Wood Project team works with local and national partners around the country to source wood that is destined for landfills, reclaiming it into unique, modern furnishings. At present, Room & Board has Urban Wood Project partners in Minneapolis, Detroit, Sacramento, Anaheim, and Baltimore. By the end of 2025, Room & Board plans to divert the equivalent of 1,000 trees annually from the waste stream through this project. Recently, the National Wildlife Federation and Sustainable Furnishings Council named Room & Board a Top Scorer on their 2022 Wood Furniture Scorecard, acknowledging their leadership in encouraging sustainable wood supply chain practices.
“The Urban Wood model has allowed us to mitigate unnecessary waste and reduce the distance materials travel,” says Emily McGarvey, Director of Sustainability for Room & Board. “We’ve proven that American-made is not just a smart business choice; it is also smarter environmentally.”
