Of the temporary and permanent housing solutions envisioned for Haiti, there's everything but a shortage. On this site alone, we've supported Shelter Box and mentioned efforts by House Arc and Andrés Duany. Another effort that recently caught our attention is this Shipping Container Housing project to rapidly fabricate temporary relief housing out of 20 foot used containers.
This is the Home of the Future, which is on display at the BC Hydro Power Smart Village in downtown Vancouver. It's hard to tell, but the home is actually made with two shipping containers and wrapped in cedar and pine beetle wood cladding. In addition, according to a press release, the showcase project is designed with local and recycled materials, as well as energy-efficient appliances and other conservation technologies.
This scenic observatory, referred to as OceanScope or ContainerScope, presents a beautiful reuse of old shipping containers in Songdo New City, Incheon, South Korea. First noticed at and according to Dezeen, OceanScope was designed by Minsoo Lee and Keehyun Ahn of AnL Studio from three, old, cheap shipping containers.
Modern day pioneer John Wells is doing some interesting work in Alpine, Texas. On his desert swath in The Field Lab, which is also referred to as The Southwest Texas Alternative Energy and Sustainable Living Field Laboratory, Wells is living off the grid and maintaining an interesting (and humorous) journal in the process.
Richard Hammond and Gensler's Santa Monica office contributed to a unique container project for a Boy Scouts' campground in Emerald Bay (on Catalina Island off the coast of southern California). According to Metropolis, the low-impact cabin was made with old shipping containers, reclaimed lumber, durable rubber flooring, LED lighting, and solar photovoltaics. The roof -- which is, perhaps, more eye-catching than the transformed containers -- was made with a stretched silicone-coated fiberglass material.
If there's something we're seeing more of it's container projects. And nothing brings out emotion like a shipping container project. Some argue that the benefits of using containers for a structure's framework are negligible, if any, while others argue that container projects are too austere. Or industrial. Nonetheless, as long as you're building with old containers, we'll likely keep talking about the greener ones. In the mean time, feel free to review the best of this year (click the text links for more images and information).
Mark Meyer of Austin-based designSTUDIO recently pointed us to one of his newest projects, la Boite. La Boite is a green, environmentally sensitive cafe with locally baked goods, sandwiches, and coffee. It was built from an old shipping container, and if you're interested in details of the transformation, read more about it on designSTUDIO's blog. For the project, DesignSTUDIO used Rainwater HOG's for greywater collection, biobased spray foam insulation, and Forbo linoleum for the floor and one wall. You can find la Boite on 1700 South Lamar Boulevard in Austin, Texas. Looks fun, doesn't it?
According to a recent press release, a sustainable energy company called Beautiful Earth Group just unveiled this containerized electric vehicle (EV) charging station in Red Hook, Brooklyn. With a soaring array of photovoltaic panels, the BMW Mini E pictured runs exclusively on fresh, green power generated by the off-grid, modular station. You’ll note that the station just so happens to be built with recycled shipping containers, too.
Recently in The Oregonian, there was an article by Ruth Mullen about this upcycled container cabana built by Mike Corvi using a 8' x 20' steel shipping container. Corvi bought the container for $2,900; hired some craftsmen to cut out the windows and doors; installed dual-pane Jeld-wen windows and a sliding door; wired the place for electricity, cable, and heat; and installed rigid foam insulation and birch plywood paneling. He finished the space for ~$8,000, and Corvi wants to sell similar container cabanas for ~$16,000. He's also working on a prototype with a kitchen and bathroom.
Recently, Peter DeMaria, AIA, of DeMaria Design, this month received an award from the South Bay/Long Beach Chapter of the AIA for his design of the East LA Four Square Church Parsonage. The project was built using a hybrid form of traditional stick frame construction and seven recycled cargo containers.
