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A concept called HybridLife is the Keen Footwear mantra. It’s a commitment to create product and business practice solutions that fulfill a 鈥減romise to care for each other and the world around us.鈥�

That ideology was the driving force behind the renovation of the Pearl Building 鈥� a century-old, five-story, 60,000-square-foot, brick office structure in downtown Portland 鈥� into the shoe company’s new office and administrative space with a retail facility at ground level.

R&H Construction brought to the project a great deal of experience in green building and remodeling, 鈥渂ut this was beyond most everything we’d worked on,鈥� R&H’s Walter Bianchini said. 鈥淭hey were adamant about zero waste as a target.聽Everything taken out was to either be reused, recycled or (found) a home.鈥�

During the deconstruction phase of the renovation project, saved material was numbered and tagged with a description sent to C2K Architecture for repurposing. Old flooring became interior trim, tables and a barn-type door with the Keen logo routed into the face.

In addition, environmentally friendly methods for replacing the old with the new were stressed.

鈥淲e used a dry-ice pellet blaster to clean the old columns,鈥� Bianchini said. 鈥淲e offered them choices on cleaning the paint from the brickwork, and they chose a water-based product that took longer, but made no environmentally hazardous fumes or waste.鈥�

R&H also worked with Habitat for Humanity ReStore and the ReBuilding Center, sending them more than 17 truckloads of material.聽More than 25 tons of drywall, 25 tons of wood and 5 tons of metal were sent for recycling. By the end of the project, the total amount of materials actually considered 鈥渨aste鈥� amounted to a single truckload.

Keen’s dedication to care for the world around it extended to the very bones of the structure it calls its new home.

鈥淭hey had a real respect for the building,鈥� Bianchini said.聽鈥淚t was a pleasure to see it brought back to life.鈥�