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Shipping container architecture

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A first aid station built using an intermodal container.
A remote office constructed with used shipping container.
Stacked reefer container homes

Shipping container architecture is a form of architecture that uses steel intermodal containers (shipping containers) as the main structural element. It is also referred to as cargotecture, a portmanteau of the words "cargo" and "architecture", or "arkitainer". This form of architecture is often associated with the tiny house movement as well as the sustainable living movement.

The use of containers as a building material grew in popularity due to their strength, wide availability, and low cost. They are also more eco-friendly.[1][2]

Advantages

Due to their shape and material, shipping containers are highly customizable and can be modified to fit various purposes. They are modular, meaning all shipping containers are the same width and most have two standard height and length measurements. Thus, they can easily be combined into larger structures that follow modular design. This simplifies design, planning, and transport as the containers can interlock for ease of mobility during transportation. Structural construction is completed by simply interlocking them. Additional construction is as easy as interlocking or stacking more containers. They can be stacked up to 12 units high when empty.[citation needed]

Because shipping containers are designed to be stacked in high columns and to carry heavy loads, they are also strong and durable. Shipping containers are designed to resist harsh environments, such as on ocean-going vessels or sprayed with road salt while transported on roads. As they already conform to standard shipping sizes, pre-fabricated modules can be easily transported by ship, truck, or rail.

Despite that welding and cutting of steel is considered to be specialized labor, which can increase construction expenses, shipping container construction is still less expensive than conventional construction. Unlike wood-frame construction, attachments must be welded or drilled to the outer skin, which is more time-consuming, and requires different job site equipment.

As a result of their widespread use, new and used shipping containers are available globally. This ease of availability extends to the cost of building tiny or container houses. One of the major perks of buying container homes is that they are quite affordable. Depending on the requirements and material used, a container home will cost less compared to traditional homes[3]

Lastly, a 12 metres (39 ft) long shipping container weighs over 3,500 kilograms (7,700 lb). When upcycling shipping containers, thousands of kilograms of steel are saved. In addition, when building with containers, the quantities of traditional building materials needed (i.e., bricks and cement) are reduced.


Container Buildings

Advantages of Container Buildings in India

  • Sustainability: Utilizes repurposed shipping containers, reducing waste and promoting recycling.
  • Affordability: Often more cost-effective than traditional construction, making housing more accessible.
  • Modularity: The design allows for easy configuration and reconfiguration to meet various spatial needs.
  • Speed of Construction: Container buildings can be assembled quickly, reducing construction timelines.
  • Eco-Friendly: Encourages the use of green building practices, such as solar panels, efficient insulation, and sustainable materials.


Disadvantages

Steel conducts heat very well, therefore containers used for human occupancy in an environment with extreme temperature variations will normally have to be better insulated than most brick, block, or wood structures. In addition to heat, humidity can affect steel structures. Because single wall steel conducts heat, when moist interior air condenses against the steel, it becomes humid and forms rust if the steel is not sealed and insulated.

Despite their durability, while in service containers may be damaged by friction, handling collisions, and force of heavy loads overhead during ship transits. Additionally, although the two ends of a container are extremely strong, the roof is not. In the case of a 20 foot long container, the roof is built and tested only to withstand a 300 kilograms (660 lb) load, applied to an area of 61 cm by 30.5 cm (2' by 1') in the weakest part of the roof.[4] Companies inspect containers, and condemn them if there are cracked welds, twisted frames, or pin holes are found, among other faults.

Shipping containers can be combined in modular arrangements to create larger spaces, although altering the dimensions from the standard sizes (typically 20 feet or 40 feet) can be both time-consuming and costly. Containers exceeding 40 feet in length might pose challenges in navigating residential areas. The transportation and construction of shipping container structures can also incur significant expenses due to their size and weight, often necessitating the use of cranes or forklifts. This is in contrast to more traditional construction materials like brick, block, and lumber, which can be handled manually and used for construction even at elevated heights.

Because the use of steel for construction is mostly for industrial rather than residential structures, obtaining building permits for shipping container homes can be troublesome in some regions where municipalities are not familiar with shipping container architecture. In the United States, certain shipping container homes have been built outside of various city zoning areas, where no building permits are required.

Chemicals

To meet Australian government shipping quarantine requirements, most container floors, when manufactured, are treated with insecticides containing copper (23–25%), chromium (38–45%) and arsenic (30–37%). Chromium and arsenic are known carcinogens. If shipping containers are repurposed for human habitation, these floors should be safely removed, disposed, and replaced. Because shipping containers can carry a wide variety of industrial cargo, spillages or contamination may also occur inside the container, and will have to be cleaned before habitation. Before human habitation, ideally all internal surfaces should be abrasive blasted to bare metal, and re-painted with a nontoxic paint system. Solvents released from paint, and sealants used in manufacture, might be harmful to human health.

Examples

Shipping containers stacked to form a semi-permanent wall at an iron ore mine in Western Australia

Many structures based on shipping containers have already been constructed. Their uses, sizes, locations and appearances vary widely.

When futurist Stewart Brand needed a place to assemble the material he would use to write How Buildings Learn, he converted a shipping container into an office space. The conversion process is described in How Buildings Learn itself.

In 2006, Southern California Architect Peter DeMaria designed the first two-story shipping container home in the U.S., as an approved structural system under the strict guidelines of the nationally recognized Uniform Building Code (UBC). This home was the Redondo Beach House, and it inspired the creation of Logical Homes, a cargo container–based pre-fabricated home company. In 2007, Logical Homes created its flagship project, the Aegean, for the Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Illustration of the structure of Container City showing how the containers are stacked.

In 2000, the firm Urban Space Management completed a project called Container City I in the Trinity Buoy Wharf area of London. The firm has gone on to complete additional container-based building projects, with more underway. In 2006, the Dutch company Tempohousing finished, in Amsterdam, the biggest container village in the world: 1,000 student homes from modified shipping containers from China.[5]

In 2002, standard ISO shipping containers began to be modified for use as stand-alone on-site wastewater treatment plants. This use of containers creates a cost-effective, modular, and customizable solution to on-site wastewater treatment, eliminating the need for construction of a separate building to house the treatment system.[citation needed]

Entrepreneur Brian McCarthy has developed prototypes of shipping container housing for maquiladora workers in Mexico.[6]

In 2006, Village Underground constructed a series of not-for-profit artists' workspaces in Shoreditch, London. Developing the concept further, Auro Foxcroft constructed recycled shipping container architecture that incorporated retired London Underground carriages.

Application for the Live Event & Entertainment Industry:

In 2010, German architect and production designer Stefan Beese used six 12-meter-long shipping containers to create a large viewing deck and VIP lounge area for the Voodoo Music Experience, New Orleans, as a substitute for typical grand stand scaffolding. The containers double as storage space for other festival components throughout the year. The two top containers are cantilevered 2.7 meters on each side, creating two balconies that are prime viewing locations. Each container was perforated with cutouts spelling the word "VOODOO," creating various vantage points and service area openings. Since the openings themselves act as signage for the event, no additional material or energy is needed to create banners or posters.[citation needed]

Grand Stand and VIP Lounge made from Shipping Containers for the 2009 & 2010 Voodoo Music Experience, City Park, New Orleans, LA.USA.

In the United Kingdom, walls of containers filled with sand have been used as large sandbags to protect against flying debris from exploding ceramic insulators in electricity substations[citation needed].

In October 2013, two barges owned by Google with superstructures made out of shipping containers received media attention amid speculation about their purpose.[7]

Markets

Brisk trade in Bishkek's Dordoy Bazaar.
Shipping container store in Joe Slovo Park, Cape Town, South Africa.

Empty shipping containers are commonly used as market stalls and warehouses in the countries of the former USSR.

The biggest shopping mall or organized market in Europe is made up of alleys formed by stacked containers, on 69 hectares (170 acres) of land, between the airport and the central part of Odesa, Ukraine. Informally named "Tolchok", and officially known as the Seventh-Kilometer Market, it has 16,000 vendors and employs 1,200 security guards and maintenance workers.

In Central Asia, the Dordoy Bazaar in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, almost entirely composed of double-stacked containers, is of comparable size. It is popular with travelers coming from Kazakhstan and Russia, to take advantage of the cheap prices and plethora of knock-off designers.

In 2011, the Cashel Mall in Christchurch, New Zealand reopened in a series of shipping containers, months after it had been destroyed in the earthquake that devastated the city's central business district.[8] Starbucks Coffee has also built a store using shipping containers.[9] A pop-up mall Boxpark was also created in Shoreditch London in 2011, followed by other locations in the Greater London area.[10] A pop-up shopping mall, Common Ground, was created in Seoul, South Korea in 2016.[11]

Other uses

A 40-foot Portable Modular Data Center.
Shipping container as a roundabout artwork

Shipping containers have also been used as:

For housing and other architecture

News report from Voice of America about shipping container housing for students in Copenhagen.
Shipping container cottage.
53-foot reefer container home
20 foot reefer container home

Containers offer various advantages as a building material due to their strength, durability, stackability, modularity, and cost-effectiveness. They have been utilized by architects and individuals to construct diverse structures, including homes, offices, apartments, schools, dormitories, artists studios, and emergency shelters. Additionally, containers have found use as swimming pools and temporary secure spaces on construction sites and other venues. CONEX containers were developed by Malcolm MacClean to standardize the intermodal shipping unit.

CONEX containers may or may not meet the requirements of local building codes. As they are not field erected, a registered engineer or architect must verify that the containers comply with the structural requirements of the building code. The 2021 ICC[22] code was amended to address CONEX containers.

Phillip C. Clark filed for a United States patent on November 23, 1987, described as "Method for converting one or more steel shipping containers into a habitable building at a building site and the product thereof". This patent was granted August 8, 1989 as patent 4854094. The patent documentation shows what are possibly the earliest recorded plans for constructing shipping container housing and shelters by laying out some very basic architectural concepts. Regardless, the patent may not have represented novel invention at its time of filing. Paul Sawyers previously described extensive shipping container buildings used on the set of the 1985 film Space Rage Breakout on Prison Planet.

Other examples of earlier container architecture concepts also exist, such as a 1977 report entitled 'Shipping Containers as Structural Systems', investigating the feasibility of using twenty-foot shipping containers as structural elements by the US military.

During the 1991 Gulf War, containers saw considerable nonstandard uses, not only as makeshift shelters, but also for housing of US soldiers. The shipping containers were equipped with air conditioning units and provide shelter as well as protection from artillery shelling.

Rumours have it that some shipping containers were used for transportation of Iraqi prisoners of war. Holes were cut in the containers to allow for ventilation. Containers continue to be used for military shelters, often additionally fortified by adding sandbags to the side walls, to protect against weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades ("RPGs").

The abundance and relative cheapness of these containers during the last decade comes from the deficit in manufactured goods coming from North America in the last two decades. These manufactured goods come to North America from Asia and, to a lesser extent, Europe, in containers that often have to be shipped back empty, or "deadhead", at considerable expense. It is often cheaper to buy new containers in Asia than to ship old ones back. Therefore, new applications are sought for the used containers that have reached their North American destination.

Media

Shipping container architecture has inspired the reality television series: Containables (DIY) and Container Homes (HGTV), in addition to being featured in episodes of Grand Designs (Channel 4) and Amazing Interiors (Netflix).

See also

References

  1. ^ Rose, Author Gail (3 November 2021). "Are Container Homes Sustainable? | 5 Great Ways to Make an Eco-Friendly Container Home | Container Home Hub". Retrieved 6 December 2022. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ Kiil, Rene (11 April 2021). "Why and How Shipping Container Houses are Environmentally-Friendly?". Eco-friendly, Pre-built and Mobile Tiny House I Popuphut. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  3. ^ "5 Reasons why Shipping Container Homes are Popular in Other countries". Neuvasa: Fully Furnished Luxury Container Homes. 3 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Shipping containers and Building Code Requiremrnts". www.residentialshippingcontainerprimer.com. Retrieved 3 August 2020. The roof load test is 660 lbs over an area of 2' x 1' applied to the weakest part of the roof. The load is usually applied at the center of the containers positioned with the 2' dimension aligned longitudinally. Thus the roof is able to support an imposed load of a minimum of 330 lbs/sq. ft. The design is easily capable of supporting the basic snow loads of 30 lbs per sq. ft. evenly distributed.
  5. ^ Cookson, Robert (21 January 2009). "Hotel changes the landscape of building". Financial Times. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Shipping containers could be 'dream' homes for thousands". CNN. 24 September 2008. Archived from the original on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  7. ^ Daniel Terdiman (25 October 2013). "Is Google building a hulking floating data center in SF Bay?". CNET. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013.
  8. ^ Matthew Backhouse (29 October 2011). "Container mall open for business". New Zealand Herald.
  9. ^ Falk, Tyler (17 January 2012). "Starbucks opens store made from recycled shipping containers". SmartPlanet. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  10. ^ Fry, Simon (26 January 2017). "Boxing clever: The firms based in shipping containers". BBC.
  11. ^ Wong, Lucy (8 November 2016). "World's largest shipping container shopping mall pops up in Seoul". inhabitat.
  12. ^ Constantineau, Bruce (31 July 2013). "Vancouver social housing built from shipping containers". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Building a Fire Training Facility". Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  14. ^ "Costa Mesa Waldorf School is Made From 32 Recycled Shipping Containers". 30 September 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  15. ^ Garone, Elizabeth (3 November 2014). "A New Use for Shipping Containers: Stores". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  16. ^ "This shopping mall in Seoul is made entirely of shipping containers". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  17. ^ "Escape From An Eritrean Prison". NPR.org. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  18. ^ "Broadway & Devon: Starbucks Coffee Company". www.starbucks.com. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  19. ^ "Shipping Container Hotel". HuffPost. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  20. ^ Aaltonen, Riikka (14 July 2017). "Tältä näyttää Suomen ensimmäinen siirrettävä moduulivankila – Oulun poliisilaitoksen väistötilat saivat käyttöönottoluvan torstaina". Kaleva (in Finnish). Oulu, Finland. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  21. ^ Wainwright, Oliver (27 March 2020). "Architect in Italy turns shipping containers into hospitals for treating Covid-19". The Guardian.
  22. ^ "2019 ICC G5 GUIDELINE FOR THE SAFE USE OF ISO CONTAINERS | ICC DIGITAL CODES". codes.iccsafe.org. Retrieved 19 September 2022.

Further reading

Books
  • Kotnik, Jure (2008). Container Architecture. p. 240. ISBN 978-8496969223
  • Sawyers, Paul (2005, 2008). Intermodal Shipping Container Small Steel Buildings. p 116. ISBN 978-1438240329
  • Bergmann, Buchmeier, Slawik, Tinney (2010). Container Atlas: A Practical Guide to Container Architecture. p. 256. ISBN 978-3899552867
  • Minguet, Josep Maria (2013). Sustainable Architecture: Containers2. p. 111. ISBN 978-8415829317
  • Kramer, Sibylle (2014). The Box Architectural Solutions with Containers. p. 182. ISBN 978-3037681732
  • Broto, Carles (2015). Radical Container Architecture. p. 240. ISBN 978-8490540558
Journals
  • Broeze, Frank (1 December 2000). The Globalisation of the Oceans. Liverpool University Press. doi:10.5949/liverpool/9780973007336.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-9730073-3-6.
  • Helsel, Sand 'Future Shack: Sean Godsell's prototype emergency housing redeploys the ubiquitous shipping container' Architecture Australia, September–October 2001
  • Myers, Steven Lee 'From Soviet-Era Flea Market to a Giant Makeshift Mall', The New York Times, May 19, 2006
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