Comments on: 540 Eco-Dwelling: Prefab Shipping Container Homes http://www.re-burbia.com/2009/08/06/540-eco-dwelling/ A Suburban Design Competition Fri, 16 Jul 2010 04:02:26 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Rod http://www.re-burbia.com/2009/08/06/540-eco-dwelling/#comment-1519 Rod Fri, 16 Jul 2010 04:02:26 +0000 http://www.re-burbia.com/?p=1768#comment-1519 Good point re the size. Why do we need such big houses? A 40ft container is huge and big enough for 2 people to live in comfortably. Don't believe me? Look at a 40ft yacht which has far less volume due to the curves of the hull. As for carpenter's fitout, steel is dead easy to tab to. Weld tabs in prior to internal foam insulation. As for electricity, mains isn't necessary. Once again people need to understand that 12v will run everything you need. For mains powered appliances, use an inverter. Do you really need a 1600w hair dryer? Wouldn't it be nice to see a standard house block with a small dwelling and the rest planted out as garden, vegetable or otherwise. The use of wind turbines probably isn't realistic for standard suburbia as you need regular winds. Coastal areas would be great. For ideas, look at cruising yachts that already have most of this concept well suited. Good point re the size. Why do we need such big houses? A 40ft container is huge and big enough for 2 people to live in comfortably. Don’t believe me? Look at a 40ft yacht which has far less volume due to the curves of the hull. As for carpenter’s fitout, steel is dead easy to tab to. Weld tabs in prior to internal foam insulation. As for electricity, mains isn’t necessary. Once again people need to understand that 12v will run everything you need. For mains powered appliances, use an inverter. Do you really need a 1600w hair dryer? Wouldn’t it be nice to see a standard house block with a small dwelling and the rest planted out as garden, vegetable or otherwise.
The use of wind turbines probably isn’t realistic for standard suburbia as you need regular winds. Coastal areas would be great. For ideas, look at cruising yachts that already have most of this concept well suited.

]]> By: Dustin P http://www.re-burbia.com/2009/08/06/540-eco-dwelling/#comment-1059 Dustin P Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:07:33 +0000 http://www.re-burbia.com/?p=1768#comment-1059 I think many of the critics of this project are completely missing the point. The basis of design for this concept is right on par with the goal and spirit of this competition. The competition is not about creating a completely new, original thought that has never been done before, it's about applying an architectural concept to the problem of irresponsible suburban sprawl. Of course shipping containers have been done before, but Pier 57 in New York (where many of that cities shipping containers make first contact) is a far cry from the adaptive reuse of shipping containers in our neighborhoods across America. This project is taking a known architectural vernacular and applying it to the proposed issue and purpose of this competition. In this same manner, Pier 57 is no front runner in the shipping container game, shipping container buildings have been around for at least a decade. Urban Space Management completed 'Container City' in London back in 2000. As far as the carpenter's comments up top, of course your customers would add those things, otherwise they wouldn't need a carpenter and wouldn't be your customers. There are hundreds of innovative ways to outfit a container house that don't involve anything close to custom cabinets, floors, trim or even wood for that matter. Just look at examples from container projects by Adam Kalkin, Peter Demaria, or Kieran Timberlake to name a few. There are countless sustainable, and space efficient materials and design solutions that forgo the use of mundane cabinet work and wood flooring. Of course a carpenter would prefer a stud house, let's think outside the box... or in this case in it. This project is an interesting continuation into the ongoing exploration of potential for shipping container architecture. With some further refinement and thought it could become a truly feasible solution to the issue at hand. I think many of the critics of this project are completely missing the point. The basis of design for this concept is right on par with the goal and spirit of this competition.

The competition is not about creating a completely new, original thought that has never been done before, it’s about applying an architectural concept to the problem of irresponsible suburban sprawl. Of course shipping containers have been done before, but Pier 57 in New York (where many of that cities shipping containers make first contact) is a far cry from the adaptive reuse of shipping containers in our neighborhoods across America. This project is taking a known architectural vernacular and applying it to the proposed issue and purpose of this competition. In this same manner, Pier 57 is no front runner in the shipping container game, shipping container buildings have been around for at least a decade. Urban Space Management completed ‘Container City’ in London back in 2000.

As far as the carpenter’s comments up top, of course your customers would add those things, otherwise they wouldn’t need a carpenter and wouldn’t be your customers. There are hundreds of innovative ways to outfit a container house that don’t involve anything close to custom cabinets, floors, trim or even wood for that matter. Just look at examples from container projects by Adam Kalkin, Peter Demaria, or Kieran Timberlake to name a few. There are countless sustainable, and space efficient materials and design solutions that forgo the use of mundane cabinet work and wood flooring. Of course a carpenter would prefer a stud house, let’s think outside the box… or in this case in it.

This project is an interesting continuation into the ongoing exploration of potential for shipping container architecture. With some further refinement and thought it could become a truly feasible solution to the issue at hand.

]]> By: Jason Welty http://www.re-burbia.com/2009/08/06/540-eco-dwelling/#comment-1035 Jason Welty Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:25:16 +0000 http://www.re-burbia.com/?p=1768#comment-1035 R Magli response..... The structure is designed to house 5 people an elderly person, 2 children and 2 adults. A container has exterior dimensions of 40'x8' (ISO standard 1496) with about 39'-8 x 7'-8" interior dimensions, which equals 304 sq/ft per container. Total 1,520 sq ft. The Inefficient high ceilings allow for stack effect and natural cross ventilation. i also forgot to put in the renderings the 16' big ass fan which moves the air making the surrounding area feel between 8 - 16ºF cooler. The house uses salvaged, refurbished or reused materials, we have a surplus of containers at our ports and stacked around our cities. Containers may be made from a non-renewable resource but incorporate recycled content materials, thereby reducing impacts resulting from extraction and processing of virgin materials. I don't think its a McContainerMansion..... R Magli response…..
The structure is designed to house 5 people an elderly person, 2 children and 2 adults. A container has exterior dimensions of 40′x8′ (ISO standard 1496) with about 39′-8 x 7′-8″ interior dimensions, which equals 304 sq/ft per container. Total 1,520 sq ft. The Inefficient high ceilings allow for stack effect and natural cross ventilation. i also forgot to put in the renderings the 16′ big ass fan which moves the air making the surrounding area feel between 8 – 16ºF cooler. The house uses salvaged, refurbished or reused materials, we have a surplus of containers at our ports and stacked around our cities. Containers may be made from a non-renewable resource but incorporate recycled content materials, thereby reducing impacts resulting from extraction and processing of virgin materials. I don’t think its a McContainerMansion…..

]]> By: Ryan Sonzini http://www.re-burbia.com/2009/08/06/540-eco-dwelling/#comment-1007 Ryan Sonzini Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:10:14 +0000 http://www.re-burbia.com/?p=1768#comment-1007 I saw a video on You Tube of a design just like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwnEcZdN960 I saw a video on You Tube of a design just like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwnEcZdN960

]]> By: J Anderson http://www.re-burbia.com/2009/08/06/540-eco-dwelling/#comment-984 J Anderson Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:03:06 +0000 http://www.re-burbia.com/?p=1768#comment-984 Funny how a notable entry is something that is being created in real life. In New York they are bulding a park using shipping containers on the ond Pier 57. Here is the link http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/new-york-pier-57-by-lot-ek-park-on-shipping-containers.php Funny how a notable entry is something that is being created in real life. In New York they are bulding a park using shipping containers on the ond Pier 57. Here is the link
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/new-york-pier-57-by-lot-ek-park-on-shipping-containers.php

]]> By: R Magli http://www.re-burbia.com/2009/08/06/540-eco-dwelling/#comment-964 R Magli Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:31:33 +0000 http://www.re-burbia.com/?p=1768#comment-964 The bird's eye view is what caught my eye. Why is this "green" house sprawling like the others around it? I've envisioned creating a container habitat, but part of that challenge is the efficient use of space. How many people is this structure designed to house? Five 480 sq ft containers total 2400 sq ft (not counting the sq ft lost to gain those inefficient high ceilings). The lot size is the same as the others around it as well. The structure is made with non-renewable materials and the containers which were still viable and which were constantly recycled will now have to be replaced with new ones. Congratulations! You've just designed a McContainerMansion. The bird’s eye view is what caught my eye. Why is this “green” house sprawling like the others around it? I’ve envisioned creating a container habitat, but part of that challenge is the efficient use of space. How many people is this structure designed to house? Five 480 sq ft containers total 2400 sq ft (not counting the sq ft lost to gain those inefficient high ceilings). The lot size is the same as the others around it as well. The structure is made with non-renewable materials and the containers which were still viable and which were constantly recycled will now have to be replaced with new ones. Congratulations! You’ve just designed a McContainerMansion.

]]> By: Jason Welty http://www.re-burbia.com/2009/08/06/540-eco-dwelling/#comment-955 Jason Welty Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:11:48 +0000 http://www.re-burbia.com/?p=1768#comment-955 Video of 540 ECO-DWELLING http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwnEcZdN960 Video of 540 ECO-DWELLING
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwnEcZdN960

]]> By: J. C. Fitzgerald http://www.re-burbia.com/2009/08/06/540-eco-dwelling/#comment-670 J. C. Fitzgerald Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:19:17 +0000 http://www.re-burbia.com/?p=1768#comment-670 The humble & ugly ISO shipping container has structural integrity and a huge carbon legacy depending how many times it was used to transport manufactured goods. This adaptive reuse of the lowly metalbox is the right direction for responsible habitation. If you were to pack the containers with the rest of the build-out materials to be delivered to the site you could save all the wasted fuel spentgoing to the BigBox store as well. More needs to be done in this area to make the shipping container the building block of the 21st century. The humble & ugly ISO shipping container has structural integrity and a huge carbon legacy depending how many times it was used to transport manufactured goods. This adaptive reuse of the lowly metalbox is the right direction for responsible habitation. If you were to pack the containers with the rest of the build-out materials to be delivered to the site you could save all the wasted fuel spentgoing to the BigBox store as well. More needs to be done in this area to make the shipping container the building block of the 21st century.

]]> By: Wayne Scott http://www.re-burbia.com/2009/08/06/540-eco-dwelling/#comment-369 Wayne Scott Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:18:31 +0000 http://www.re-burbia.com/?p=1768#comment-369 Speaking as a carpenter, the majority of my customers would then take this shell and apply custom cabinets, wood floors, trim, carpet, and a number of things, exposing the fact that this is the equivalent of a shell structure, except being a metal container box it will be harder to fasten everything to. It will still need to be tied to a slab, have electrical and plumbing installed, fireproofing (metal is not strong in a fire)... I would rather have a crew frame a house using farm growth studs, a renewable resource. I respect and support the use of containers as emergency shelters, where there is no electricity, and the containers double as emergency supply containers. For custom homes, I prefer site sourced earthen construction, partially below ground. Speaking as a carpenter, the majority of my customers would then take this shell and apply custom cabinets, wood floors, trim, carpet, and a number of things, exposing the fact that this is the equivalent of a shell structure, except being a metal container box it will be harder to fasten everything to. It will still need to be tied to a slab, have electrical and plumbing installed, fireproofing (metal is not strong in a fire)…
I would rather have a crew frame a house using farm growth studs, a renewable resource.
I respect and support the use of containers as emergency shelters, where there is no electricity, and the containers double as emergency supply containers.

For custom homes, I prefer site sourced earthen construction, partially below ground.

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