Recently, Van der Architects near Tokyo Japan needed to find recycled wood to redesign their own firm’s offices. When one designer found a 40-year old house in her neighborhood that was to be demolished, she persuaded the contractor to save the wood rather than smashing it into pieces.

And just what did it take to persuade the contractors to recycle the wood for the architects? Beer coupons, of course (a gift giving tradition in Japan).

While there’s no word on whether this “pilsner tactic” has been tried elsewhere, perhaps it’s actually beer that is the answer to building “green” houses all over the world.

In the end the new offices redesigned with the materials from the old house look stunning, and demonstrate how simple material recycling can go along way toward making housing more sustainable. Read post in Dwell blog.