Summary: Fordham University maintains a strong commitment to sustainability, and that’s made them an ideal parter for DCI over the years. In 2014, DCI partnered with Fordham University to furnish their stunning new Law School and residence hall at Lincoln Center. Around the same time, DCI was responsible for recycling 300 sets of furniture at their Bronx-based Rose Hill campus.
Project Name: Fordham University
Project Location: Lincoln Center, Manhattan; Rose Hill, The Bronx
Project Size: 430 Sets
Building Type: Multipurpose Urban Residence Hall
Project Team: Fordham, DCI
Product List: Bed, Desk, Chair, Wardrobe, Underbed Storage, Lounge Chair & Sofa, Common Room Table, Dining Table and Chair, Mattress
Fordham University
Founded in 1841 by the New York Catholic Diocese as a private nonprofit research university, Fordham University is the oldest Catholic University in the northeast United States.
It occupies 125 acres across three campuses in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Westchester County.
The University enrolls 15,582 students hailing from 65 countries with 9,258 undergrads and 6,324 postgrads.
Students are awarded degrees in over 60 disciplines and the school offers more than 130 study abroad opportunities.
With a core curriculum based on the 500-year old tradition of rigorous Jesuit academic training, Fordham has produced 168 Fulbright scholars since 2003.
And it is one of 99 designated research universities in the U.S. based on doctoral degrees granted, research dollars spent, and overall number of research staff.
In terms of rankings U.S. News & World Report place Fordham number 61 in “Best National Universities,” and ranked it no. 195 of the best universities in the world for arts and humanities.
In 2016, Forbes ranked the university at no. 145 among “America’s Best Colleges” as well as the 70th best research university in the country.
Sustainability
There are a lot of things that stand out about Fordham, but one thing that has made them a great partner for DCI over the years is their practice of sustainability. Fordham has made impressive commitments to reduce its environmental impact.
For example, working with the city of New York, Fordham says that:
We will measure and implement methods to reduce our carbon footprint, working to meet the City of New York’s program, NYC Carbon Challenge, for carbon reduction of 40 percent by 2030.
Currently the school maintains an active and engaged sustainability mission in the following areas:
- Energy
- Climate Action Plan
- Campus Recycling
- Green Building
- Transportation
- Process & Approach
Lincoln Center Campus
In 2012, we started working with Fordham University on an exciting new project. In September 2014, the school opened a brand new building on it’s Lincoln Center campus. The 22 story building:
…was designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners to serve a dual-purpose for Fordham University: a nine-story pedestal (and lower level floor) houses the law school, and a 12-story tower serves as an undergraduate residence hall.[31]
We partnered with Fordham to furnish their new residence hall. And this isn’t the first time we’ve worked with Fordham either.
We’ve had a long-standing relationship with them to furnish residence halls at the Rose Hill campus in the Bronx.
During the furniture selection process for the Lincoln Center campus, Fordham had a few key goals. They wanted to create a new design standard in order to bring a coherent look and feel to all their furniture.
Style, sustainability, durability, design, and price were all important factors in their product choices. We had a rewarding and seamless experience installing furniture in the new building on Fordham’s Lincoln Center Campus.
Rose Hill Campus: Reuse, Repurpose, & Recycle
Around the same time, Fordham needed our help disposing of 300 set of used furniture as part of an installation on their Rose Hill Campus in the Bronx.
At DCI, we’re passionate about preventing waste and giving furniture a second life to keep it out of the landfill. And the beautiful thing is that, with a little planning, you can give wood furniture a second and third life.
Over the last two decades, we’ve repurposed enough furniture to fill over three hundred 53-foot containers. All of that was solid hardwood furniture that we diverted from the landfill.
For example, in a recent project at Pepperdine University, we resold 250 sets of Pepperdine furniture at a significant markdown to a small private school that needed furniture but lacked funding. You can read the full case study here.
In an inspiring example of upcycling, DCI works in ongoing partnership with the University of New Hampshire on an innovative project.
In short, DCI furnishes the UNH residence halls with brand new hardwood furniture that is fortified with upcycled internal components from furniture that we installed on their campus over 25 years ago. You can read that case study here.
And for NYU, we managed to keep 400 sets of bed decks out of the landfill by crafting entirely new bend ends for them. And as you may already know, bed springs are some of the most notorious and unwieldy space consumers in the landfill because they are nearly impossible to compact. Check out the case study here.
Recycling $300k Worth of Beds
In the case of Fordham, we coordinated the removal and repurposing of 300 sets of furniture worth somewhere between $200-$300k. Again, this was all furniture that went on to live another life instead of going to the landfill.
Reusing, recycling, upcycling, and repurposing old furniture is an amazing way to combat climate change and minimize the ecological footprint of your school.
Do you have old furniture that you want to replace? We can work with you to customize all sorts of creative solutions to minimize waste and give your furniture a second life. Feel free to email us any time.