As part of the Living Building Challenge™, The Joinery has to meet 20 Imperatives required by the International Living Future Institute. No. 13 is Living Economy Sourcing.
That means we must “contribute to the expansion of a regional economy rooted in sustainable practices, products, and services.”
We're fulfilling this Imperative by hiring designers, contractors and builders from Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma—and taking every opportunity to source our building materials locally.
Specifically, this Imperative requires 20 percent or more of the materials we use to come from within 500 kilometers of our construction site.
We're thrilled that the largest contribution to our project to date comes from Independent Material Company—located just one mile away from The Joinery.
Our newest partnership with Tulsa's oldest masonry supplier is essential to the success of our project. Independent Material is donating all mortar needed for our 40,000-brick residence.
“It’s basically the glue that holds it together," operations manager Jennifer Kudirka said.
Independent Material Co., which has four full-time employees, has been on Owasso Avenue since 1924. If you stop by, you can see the railroad tracks in the front of the building form when deliveries were made by train.
“We have customers that come in and say they used to come here with their grandfathers, so we do have second- and third-generation customers," she said.
While Independent Material Co. has been an institution for the masonry community, it's made some changes—from renovating its historic building to expanding its product line—as it approaches its centennial.
Video by Greg Bollinger