Using seven recycled shipping containers, architect Bernard Morin and wife Joyce Labelle built this contemporary residence in St. Adele, Quebec. The home is the first of many to come for their new company, Maison Idekit, which will help homeowners turn containers into architecturally unique, and inexpensive, homes. The company has two more residential projects set to break ground in the next couple months using a total of twelve container modules.
When we first mentioned Logical Homes in August 2007, I guess we didn't realize how long it would be until the company actually launched. But I think the wait has been worth it. Logical Homes is officially out of pre-launch and just published details of their first three home designs. The company is run by a whole list of folks, but the most notable is probably their Creative Director and COO, Peter DeMaria. He's a high profile expert in container architecture -- don't miss this video of him talking about container homes. Let's check out what Logical Homes just introduced:
It looks like Group 41 has been hard at work on a few designs for a multifamily project in Salt Lake County built entirely from containers. Below you'll see both proposals, the Curve Scheme and the Red Container Scheme, but the general idea is to create about 200 units of market-rate housing along the rail transportation corridor. Group 41's Container Nation developed the two proposals to take advantage of different approaches to the stacking and build out of the containers. In all, probably 1000 containers would be used -- but this is preliminary conceptual phase with preliminary local planning approvals expected in mid-2009 or so ...
This Brooklin, Maine home, designed by architect Adam Kalkin, may not be brand new to the green scene (it was built in 2003), but its unique design still looks so fresh today that I had to write about it. The beautiful home stretches the boundaries of modern design and is truly a work of art. It was created by stacking a dozen orange "reclaimed" shipping containers in a T-shape while replacing some of the steel pannels with large windows looking out over the rocky peninsula to Blue Hill Bay.
Realizing this site might be a little overweight in the container architecture department, I'm going to blog this and try to abstain in the next few weeks. But Puma City, like the Freitag Flagship Store in Zurich (only less banged up looking), is another illustration of industrial design and adaptive reuse combined. The 11,000 sf retail installation was designed by LOT-EK and uses three levels of forty-foot containers stacked four units wide to create an incredibly dynamic design.
[Sponsor article from Envision Prefab]
UPDATE 3/16/09 - Envision Prefab has gone dark. The website was shut down. Apparently, the company was sold to some company in Panama -- Aaron Newman says the terms of the sale are confidential. If you have any concerns, feel free to contact us.
Container architecture has taken on various forms over the last few years. We’ve seen many building types constructed with creativity as architects and developers experimented with cargo containers, from office buildings to apartments, and single-family homes. South Florida based company, Envision Prefab, is bringing container architecture to a new level by creating complete modular housing out of these frames. Envision has tracked the progress of a model home from its initial cutting and through the factory process, ready to be shipped. If you've ever thought about using containers in home design, make sure to read below:
The Greentainer Project in Gandino, Italy is yet another expression of container architecture, albeit this time it's for a more whimsical application. The project used one, standard-sized, 40-foot container and transformed it into a structure that's mobile, flexible, and self-sufficient. In its current form, Greentainer is perfect for multiple uses and almost infinite locations, plus the rooftop solar panels provide all the energy necessary to run the heating and cooling system, lights, and other devices. So you could potentially use it for a party, event, grand opening, art show, or any other scheme you can come up with.
A combination of various groups, including AIA Newark, Skanska, and Young Architects Forum, put together the Live The BOX competition to find innovative, visionary, and compelling proposals for container constructed, multifamily, mixed- use projects. The competition received tons of interesting container design entries, but only three won (with three more Honorable Mentions). Designs had to use standard shipping containers of 8'-6" height and either 20' or 40' length as main building blocks for the structure. Make sure to check out the winners below ... Also, I'll update this article as I find better images.
Yesterday the EPA announced winners of the second annual green building competition known as the Lifecycle Building Challenge, or LBC2. The challege issued a proposal for designs and ideas that support cost-effective disassembly and that anticipate future use of building materials. It was open to architects, reuse experts, engineers, designers, planners, contractors, builders, educators, environmental advocates, and students in three main categories: (1) Building, (2) Innovation, and (3) Outstanding Achievement Awards. The winners have been selected and listed below with a quick image. There's seriously some excellent thinking at work here, so congratulations to everyone ...
So here's the deal. The Harbinger SG Blocks Showhouse was bad out. Everyone I talked to loved it. You might think that a shipping container home would feel closed-in and constrictive, but this home certainly wasn't. At 1700 sf, everything felt just right to me. I was able to sneak into the Exhibit Hall early enough to get some killer images (in case you couldn't be there), so let's talk a walk through the Harbinger House below.
