Designboom.com; Images by Dave Southwood
Hitting all the magazines and recent blogs is Lot-Ek’s modular residential project constructed of 140 shipping containers that don’t hide their history, but celebrate it--allowing their original markings to become a billboard for Johannesburg, South Africa’s urban revitalization and repopulation. This 75,000-square-foot development called the “Drivelines” is a city connector, bringing affordable rentals together with retail and healthy public spaces. This is an exemplar of how container architecture is way more than a trend, it's sustainable practice in action.
This 75,000-square-foot development called the “Drivelines” is a city connector, bringing affordable rentals together with retail and healthy public spaces.
Image: designboom.com
Shipping containers can, as Lot-Ek demonstrates, be a community accelerator, part of a citywide redevelopment project. Or they can be a singular, custom, affordable expression of reuse for work, play, or prayer.
What are the challenges of “cargotecture” in transforming containers into everything from emergency shelters to mobile schoolhouses, from high-end retail to churches, and from homes to schools at many scales? How are the containers modified, stacked, and put together as if they were Lego blocks? What are the basic advantages and challenges of purchasing and reusing containers? Can we do this on a small scale? Can containers have a purposeful life?
How are the containers modified, stacked, and put together as if they were Lego blocks?
Here are some considerations and constraints to consider when looking to use shipping containers in a future project:
1-Sustainability
The reuse of containers into architecture or interiors is more than environmentally friendly, it's a sustainable strategy, preventing the use of brick and cement and reducing the use of steel. Putting just one container back into use can help save about 3,500 kilograms of steel.
Putting just one container back into use can help save about 3,500 kilograms of steel.
2-Portability and Affordability
Another significant advantage of building with containers is that they are very affordable, can be easily moved, and can be re-built quickly. If you live close to a port, you will find many suppliers. If not, you can easily have containers shipped. Forty-foot containers typically offer the best value and are the easiest to source and procure.
Forty-foot containers typically offer the best value and are the easiest to source and procure.
3-Durability
Shipping containers are durable, having been designed to endure unpredictable weather conditions, and were constructed to carry heavy cargo with ease. They are safe. Their steel structure and light weight in comparison to cement buildings make containers more resilient against earthquakes. If constructing from an Intermodal Steel Building Unit (ISBU), inform insurance carriers and code officials of its outstanding fire and safety ratings.
Their steel structure and light weight in comparison to cement buildings make containers more resilient against earthquakes.
4-Challenges
One of the biggest potential challenges in reusing shipping containers is controlling temperature, especially if reuse is for housing or assembly. The steel fabrication absorbs both cold and heat, so insulation will be a critical part of the design process. Containers are not corrosion or rust-proof, so they need care and attention to avoid these issues. Lastly, its important to become aware of their history, such as being exposed to insecticides during import or export procedures. To be safe, wood floors should be removed and the inside of containers covered with bare metal and painted with nontoxic paint. You may want to consider hiring an inspector from the Institute of International Containers Lessors to inspect your potential container(s).
One of the biggest potential challenges in reusing shipping containers is controlling temperature, especially if reuse is for housing or assembly.
Shipping containers can become sustainable building blocks for just about anything architects imagine, on all scales, modular or custom, immediate or long-term. They can be part of hybrid construction or designed to suit. They can, as Lot-Ek demonstrates, be a community accelerator, part of a citywide redevelopment project. Or they can be a singular, custom, affordable expression of reuse for work, play, or prayer. It’s up to us.
