Deconstruction + Reuse Conference 2025

Bridging the Reuse Gap:
From Promise to Practice

August 4-6, 2025

The Landmark Center

Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA

The only North American conference focused explicitly on reuse in the built environment will host people from around the world to discuss the current economic, social, and environmental impacts of the building material reuse industry.

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The Venue

Join us in beautiful Saint Paul, Minnesota, August 4-6, 2025, during the best time of the year in the Midwest. The conference will be hosted in the Landmark Center, a highly revered adaptive reuse project in the heart of Saint Paul.

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Conference FAQ

Registration

Registration is open! Register as a member, a non-member, or as a student! AmeriCorps members and apprentices can register at the student rate. Check out our “bring the team” option too.

Questions

We’ve had a few questions come our way. If one person has a question, others do too. We have info about hotels, speaker fees, and more. We’ll add questions and answers to this page.

Tuesday’s Keynote Speaker: Carl Elefante

Known worldwide for coining the phrase: “the greenest building is…one that is already built,” Carl
Elefante is Principal Emeritus with Quinn Evans, recipient of the 2024 AIA Firm Award. In 2018, Carl
served as President of AIA, the culmination of leadership positions in architecture, historic preservation,
and sustainable design organizations. In 2023, Carl was the inaugural visiting scholar at the University of
Notre Dame Duda Center for Preservation, Resilience, and Sustainability. Carl is a Senior Fellow with
Architecture 2030, a charter member of the Climate Heritage Network, and a Fellow of AIA and
Association for Preservation Technology International (APT).
Carl Elefante – FAIA, FAPT LEED AP

Kira Gould, Hon. AIA, is a writer, strategist, and convener focused on advancing design leadership and climate action. Kira is the co-host of the Design the Future podcast with Lindsay Baker. Through Kira Gould CONNECT, she provides strategy and communications for organizations working toward a regenerative future. She is a Senior Fellow with Architecture 2030 and is a volunteer with the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment.

Keynote Speaker: Kira Gould

Keynote Speaker: Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter

Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter has tentatively accepted our request to be a keynote speaker for our conference!

Mayor Carter is a fourth-generation Saint Paul resident, and the first African-American mayor of the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota’s Capital City. He oversees the implementation of the city’s Climate Action & Resilience Plan (CARP), finalized in 2019. The CARP references the Sustainable Building Ordinance, which includes focusing on diversion of construction waste from landfills and incinerators. Saint Paul has several success stories of reusing buildings, including the adaptive reuse of buildings turned into housing. Within downtown, a recent study identifies several office buildings as key buildings that are likely good candidates for office-to-residential conversion.

The city is committed to supporting a sustainable built environment through continued use of existing buildings and new green building standards!

Past Conference Attendees