Quick! You and your team of creative friends have seven hours to transform salvaged construction materials into something new. You’ve got a lumber yard, plumbing inventory, and all the construction materials you could ask for. Flair or function, the possibilities are as endless as your imagination. It’s a challenge. It’s a party. It’s SponCon.
Spontaneous Construction (SponCon) is an annual celebration of sustainability and creativity hosted by Home ReSource. As a build-out competition that engages the community in transforming reclaimed construction materials from “junk it” to “funk it,” SponCon has become a highlight event on Missoula’s fall calendar. Past competitions have yielded steampunk-style lamps with bases made from old air duct parts stitched together with funky screws and knobs. Larger sculptures have emerged like an elk with antlers made from pipes and a body formed with old grates and gears.
Jessica Allred, development director at Home ReSource, pointed out that this year’s SponCon is extra special. “This is our 20th annual SponCon. Spontaneous Construction has been an annual celebration of reuse for almost as long as Home ReSource has been around. In just seven hours, SponCon teams create unique, usable, and completely custom pieces. It's pretty amazing,” she said.
Throughout the day, the public is invited to wander around and watch each team work. Sounds of hammering, sawing, and innovation in action make the area feel more like a playground than a competition. In fact, you don’t have to be a professional to participate. All building equipment is provided. “We have one family team that has participated in every single SponCon,” said Jessica. “They don't live in town anymore, and they travel to be a part! The family has a 16-year-old, and there are stories of mom being pregnant at one SponCon. Now the whole family participates.”
Teams can enroll in one of three categories: power tools, hand tools, and (new this year) youth builders. Participants will attest, however, that ingenuity is the best tool. Louisa Berky, a past team member, helped build out that elk sculpture. “We had a few ideas beforehand, but walking around Home ReSource that morning, we were really inspired to create an elk. We drew an outline of the elk on the ground to get a sense of the dimensions and then started finding materials to build the frame, adding volume and details as we went along. It was a true team effort, with the shape fully influenced by what we found that day, including the front piece of a tractor or car that another team had brought and given to us,” said Louisa.
After the last nail has been hammered and the final drill packed away, items are displayed at the Missoula Public Library for public viewing. Then, SponCon itself is upcycled into Home ReSource’s biggest fundraiser of the year—the Sustainability Auction. “We wouldn't be able to do the work we do without it. We try to keep the auction very Home ReSource-y. It's very funky, very celebratory. There's a guaranteed bidding war for what is always an incredible piece of artistry,” she said.
SponCon and its annual auction have become Home ReSource’s biggest fundraiser of the year and helped the non-profit to grow from a simple drop-off and discount construction store to a full-circle community sustainability center. More education and services make it easier for Missoulians to think outside of the recycling bin with a variety of programs including fixit clinics and project-centered workshops, a green team outreach program that provides bins and staff for sorting trash at large events, and deconstruction services to help dismantle buildings for maximum reuse of materials.
In addition to these public-facing services, Home ReSource has partnered with the Missoula City Council to create the ZERO by FIFTY Plan. They helped outline a strategy to reach Missoula City’s goal of 90% waste reduction by 2050. “We are really proud of the progress Missoula has made toward our zero waste goals and know that we have a long way to go,” Jessica said.
If there’s anything that SponCon reminds us of, it’s to think twice before tossing that old garden tub or rusty shovel into the trash. They could be the stars at next year’s SponCon and the top auction item that infuses Home ReSource with the resources to keep going.
See the Action this Year!
This year’s SponCon will be held September 14, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. There will be music, food vendors, and a ReUse Family Fest from 12 to 4 p.m. Awards get handed out at 4:30 p.m., followed by an after party with Mudslide Charlie from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Interested in forming a team? Registration is open through September 10. To register, go to HomeResource.org/SponConTeams
This year’s Sustainability Auction will be held on October 13, 4 to 6 p.m.
"In just seven hours, SponCon teams create unique, usable, and completely custom pieces. It's pretty amazing." - Jessica Allred