We had an interesting conversation in the igloo recently that triggered an all out lovefest about the uber sustainable and ohh so cool practice of designing built environments utilising old shipping containers. It turns out many of us had a favourite example of the genre and so the list below was created.
One eskimo asked ‘Why shipping containers?!’ (innocently enough). Well, where do you begin? They are the ultimate in adaptive re-use of an existing resource that has significant embodied energy. They require creativity and a serious commitment to good design to use well. They finish up looking hot if done right of course, so much so that we are contemplating their use for our next studio when we leave our current space in Surry Hills.
So without further ado, the Digital Eskimo Container Design Hall of Fame …
LOT-EK MDU Shipping Container House
Containerterminal voor studenten (Student Container accommodation in Amsterdam)
Container City (UK)
The Illy Coffee shop (video)
Frietag Store (More at Treehugger)
Got any more? Send them in!
3 Comments...
Have I got any more? I’ve got so many I stopped putting them on my blog because they were swamping it.
The Freitag store is a personal favourite, and also Adam Kalkin’s which has stacked containers and a fake heritage kit home all inside a pre fab aircraft hangar.
Sean Goodsell’s is probably the most elegant single container and Shigeru Ban’s probably the most grandiose pile of containers.
Section 8 bar in Melbourne, maybe – bar is a shipping container, so are the bathrooms, and the bar seating is simply heaps and heaps of shipping crates.
Love the whole concept, the more I mention this in the community the more people I meet who are considering this means of building including ourselves. Kool and thanks
James
http://www.shippingcontainerhousingonline.com