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Construction mock-ups oftentimes have short lives. But increasing numbers of people in Portland’s building industry are finding constructive ways to reuse them.

Most recently, a mock-up used for the Wy’East Plaza affordable housing project in East Portland was built out and then donated to the Creating Conscious Communities with People Outside 鈥� aka C(3)PO 鈥� houseless community that spans two full blocks near Water Avenue in inner Southeast Portland. The idea of converting the former mock-up into a livable shelter was developed by REACH Community Development Corp. and then completed by Walsh Construction.

鈥淚t was in the planning from day one of construction that this would be developed in this way,鈥� said Peter Clements, a REACH CDC project manager. 鈥淚t’s such a well-conceived idea. The fundamental materials and cost of doing a mock-up is part of the project in every case. And the waste of that is kind of heartbreaking.鈥�

The mock-up was delivered to C(3)P0 last week. A Walsh Construction crew donated its time and equipment to build out the pod and deliver it. The shelter used the same windows, siding and exterior paint used at Wy’East Plaza. Meanwhile, the interior was built out with drywall and paint paid for by REACH CDC. The unit was wired for electricity; two power outlets and a wall heater are inside.

鈥淲e do this on every project; we spend tens of thousands of dollars and we throw it away when we’re done,鈥� Walsh Construction Superintendent Jay Nees said. 鈥淪o, why not finish the other two sides and do something with it? REACH paid for it. They paid for us to finish it. It’s got power and heat. It doesn’t take long.鈥�

In Portland, Carleton Hart Architecture Job Captain Julia Mollner in 2017 came up with a concept of converting construction mock-ups into shelters for the houseless community. She created the Useful Waste Initiative in collaboration with Portland State University’s Center for Public Interest Design.

鈥淧eople are excited about having another option other than throwing the material in the trash,鈥� Mollner said. 鈥淭he thing that is slow is the awareness of having that option and not throwing it in the trash.鈥�

Wy’East Plaza, a four-story, 175-unit apartment building, was designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects. This mock-up is the second one the firm has donated to the Useful Waste Initiative.

鈥淭hey donated a mock-up before this one,鈥� Mollner said. 鈥淭hat’s the specific connection on this mock-up.鈥�

Eight converted mock-ups have been donated to the Useful Waste Initiative so far, and others are in the works, Mollner said. One of the first came from Andersen Construction‘s Fourth and Montgomery project completed last year.

鈥淭here’s a lot of need,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is the first mock-up Walsh was involved in. They showed a lot of excitement for continuing on with the program.鈥�

Mollner has been busy touting the program 鈥� even on her own time 鈥� to metro-area architecture and construction firms. Now it’s starting to produce results. And people like Dana Louis, who works with the C(3)PO community via her nonprofit Gather:Make:Shelter, are thrilled.

鈥淛ulia and I were talking, and there are so many steps between today and getting everyone into affordable housing, so this is part of that process,鈥� Louis said. 鈥淪o, we’re just really grateful for everyone who is helping us out. It’s really great.鈥�

Louis helped oversee delivery of the Wy’East Plaza mock-up-turned-shelter to the C(3)PO site. The Walsh Construction crew needed extra time to figure out how to make the drop after finding Southeast Main Street blocked at Water Avenue by a Portland Bureau of Transportation crew tearing up pavement in order to perform work on new sidewalks. But that delay was only temporary. Around a dozen C(3)PO residents were on hand to watch Walsh Construction employees Darren Anstein and Roger Williams use a telescopic handler to carefully place the shelter. Grins spread across observers’ faces.

鈥淧eople are so thankful for these steps, and it’s really been a huge game-changer,鈥� said Louis, who noted that Multnomah County recently paid for the acquisition of 100 additional prefabricated shelters made by Seattle-based Pallet.

鈥淧eople are getting jobs; people are productive; people are doing all kinds of things just with this amount of money,鈥� Louis said. 鈥淪o, everything else we get, it just makes everyone feel more respected. It ranges from people donating holey sweaters to construction materials. It’s really great when people understand that we all want this.鈥�

Ankrom Moisan project architect Tonia Feliciano said it definitely won’t be the last mock-up the firm donates. Plans are to follow suit with affordable housing mock-ups in the works in Beaverton and other locations, she said.

鈥淢ock-ups are useful for us not only for aesthetics and performance, but it’s great we can size them so it works for donations,鈥� she said.