The family home made of salvaged car scraps

« Back to Article

Image of 9 Use your left and right arrow keys to navigate the gallery

« Prev | Next »

The upper outside walls of the McGee house are made from over 100 salvaged car roofs

All wood furnishings throughout the home (including the deck railings) are made of locally salvaged wood

The car scraps were cut into long tile-like shapes and used to complete the upper outside walls of the house, rendering a similar appearance to slate

The home's lower walls are clad in poplar bark, a waste product from the furniture industry of North Carolina

All wood furnishings throughout the home are made of locally salvaged wood

The house was built using resource-efficient and low-toxicity materials

The upper outside walls of the McGee house are made from over 100 salvaged car roofs

The curved exterior walls give the impression that the house is smaller and shorter than an average two-story home

Article Summary

While the McGee house may look like any other new designer home in the neighborhood, its walls tell a different story. Designed by husband and wife team Karl Wanaselja and Cate Leger of Leger Wanaselja Architecture, the upper outside walls of the house are made from over 100 salvaged car roofs. In a pursuit to build a house that utilized green technologies and reused materials, the couple sourced car roofs from a selection of gray-colored cars that had been left for parts in local junk yards in Berkeley, California. Their biggest challenge was sourcing car scraps that were in relatively good condition, without dents and with a good paint finish. The scraps were then cut into long tile-like shapes and used to complete the upper outside walls of the house, rendering a similar appearance to slate.

« Back to The family home made of salvaged car scraps

Other Images from this Gallery