The Challenge:
The Healing House of Lafayette, a non-profit for grieving children, invited the IDC to build a playhouse for their annual charity auction. To maximize impact, the IDC chose a radical path, donating the entire material budget back to the charity and committing to building the structure using only found and reclaimed elements. This meant creating a high-end architectural product from waste in just five weeks.

The Intervention After weeks of material experimentation, the IDC discovered a massive, untapped local resource: hundreds of small dimensional lumber scraps discarded by lumberyards. From this resource, the IDC developed a modular tectonic system that allowed our team to use these cut offs to create a sophisticated wood play structure. This simple assembly method enabled the IDC to mobilize a large group of volunteers and complete the final build in less than five days.

The Impact The greenHOUSE raised $7,000 for the Healing House at auction. After the event, the structure was donated to a shelter for battered women and children, where it continues to serve as an "elastic" environment for therapeutic play and communal discovery. It stands as proof that works of modest cost can still produce a high-value asset for social good.