With the green premise growing in popularity across the globe, more and more people are turning to cargo container structures for green alternatives. There are countless numbers of empty, unused shipping containers around the world just sitting on shipping docks taking up space. The reason for this is that it’s too expensive for a country to ship empty containers back to their origin. In most cases, it’s just cheaper to buy new containers from Asia. The result is an extremely high surplus of empty shipping containers that are just waiting to become a home, office, apartment, school, dormitory, studio, emergency shelter, and everything else. More information after the break.
There are copious benefits to the so-called shipping container architecture model. A few of these advantages include: strength, durability, availability, and cost. The abundance and relative cheapness (some sell for as little as $900) of these containers during the last decade comes from the deficit in manufactured goods coming from North America. These manufactured goods come to North America, from Asia and Europe, in containers that often have to be shipped back empty at a considerable expense. Therefore, new applications are sought for the used containers that have reached their final destination.
On November 23, 1987, Phillip C. Clark file for a United States patent describe as a “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 on August 8, 1989 as patent 4854094. The diagrams and information contained within the documentation of the patent appear to lay the groundwork for many current shipping container architectural ideas.
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. Even more impressive is Lot-Tek’s Puma City, which was built with abundant material at a low price, without substituting design quality. As such, there are many great examples of shipping container architecture in the world.
Shipping container architecture gets a lot of encouraging coverage in the design world as a trendy green alternative to traditional building materials, and seems like a smart choice for people looking for eco-consciousness. However, there are a lot of downsides to building with cargo containers. For instance, the coatings used to make the containers durable for ocean transport also happen to contain a number of harmful chemicals, such as chromate, phosphorous, and lead-based paints. Moreover, wood floors that line the majority of shipping container buildings are infused with hazardous chemical pesticides like arsenic and chromium to keep pests away.
Reusing containers seems to be a low energy alternative, however, few people factor in the amount of energy required to make the box habitable. The entire structure needs to be sandblasted bare, floors need to be replaced, and openings need to be cut with a torch or fireman’s saw. The average container eventually produces nearly a thousand pounds of hazardous waste before it can be used as a structure. All of this, coupled with the fossil fuels required to move the container into place with heavy machinery, contribute significantly to its ecological footprint.
Another downside is that dimensionally, an individual container creates awkward living/working spaces. Taking into account added insulation, you have a long narrow box with less than eight foot ceiling. To make an adequate sized space, multiple boxes need to be combined, which again, requires energy.
In many areas, it is cheaper and less energy to build a similarly scaled structure using wood framing. Shipping container homes makes sense where resources are scarce, containers are in abundance, and where people are in need of immediate shelter such as, developing nations and disaster relief. While there are certainly striking and innovative examples of architecture using cargo containers, it is typically not the best method of design and construction.
Photos: Flickr user: Håkan Dahlström, Flick user: wendyfairy, Flickr user: SlapBcn, Flick user: RO/LU, Flickr user: pakitt, Flickr user: OneGoodEye, Flickr user: mr.push, Flickr user: Mr. Kimberly, Flickr user: Matt Brock, Flickr user: mark.hogan, Flick user: macguys, Flickr user: lorigami, Flickr user: john.duffell, Flickr user: JaviC, Flick user: Dom Dada, Flickr user: Ari Herzog
References: firmitas
-
- Photo by Håkan Dahlström – http://www.flickr.com/photos/dahlstroms/
-
- Photo by wendyfairy – http://www.flickr.com/photos/20575593@N00/
-
- Photo by SlapBcn – http://www.flickr.com/photos/slapbcn/
-
- Photo by RO/LU – http://www.flickr.com/photos/roludsgn/
-
- Photo by pakitt – http://www.flickr.com/photos/pakitt/
-
- Photo by OneGoodEye – http://www.flickr.com/photos/theonegoodeye/
-
- Photo by OneGoodEye – http://www.flickr.com/photos/theonegoodeye/
-
- Photo by mr.push – http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr-push/
-
- Photo by mr.push – http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr-push/
-
- Photo by Mr. Kimberly – http://www.flickr.com/photos/rkimberly/
-
- Photo by Matt Brock – http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_brock/
-
- cargo containers as stalls, Photo by mark.hogan – http://www.flickr.com/photos/markhogan/
-
- Photo by macguys – http://www.flickr.com/photos/radiomacguys/
-
- Photo by lorigami – http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorigami/
-
- Photo by john.duffell – http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnduffell/
-
- Photo by JaviC – http://www.flickr.com/photos/javic/
-
- Photo by Dom Dada – http://www.flickr.com/photos/ogil/
-
- Puma City, Photo by Ari Herzog – http://www.flickr.com/photos/ari-herzog/
Thank you for this article, very interesting.
Question for the author. I’ve been doing research on shipping containers and have not found much info on the plywood floors and exactly what and how they are treated. Can you share the resource for your information regarding possible hazardous chemicals? Thanks.
I need the same…plz if you can help me to get scientific journals and papers about “container Architecture” …contact me if you can: sakalans010@yahoo.com
thnx alot.
The container floors are typically made from 28mm (1.1/8″) thick Apitong plywood. Most Apitong comes from Southeast Asia and Brazil. It is decay resistant (similar to iron wood, teak and mahogany) and good for exterior projects. Besides container floors, it is often used for truck and ship decks.
An insightful article on what has become quite a plaything for architects.
In TreeHugger I just called this ” one of the most balanced and thoughtful articles I have seen on the subject of container architecture.”
I’ve been looking into building a garage from shipping containers. Some of the “cons” wouldn’t seem to apply (toxicity, for example) as much as they would when used for a dwelling. Or am I wrong?
Containers have been used in the war zone for quite awhile. After spending 15 months living/working in Afghanistan I can attest that they are more than adequate for temporary housing – or even permanent (somewhat permanent) housing in some parts of the world. I have seen 2-story office and dormitory structures created from containers. They can easily be combined and altered in many ways to create a functional, usuable space.
Very interesting, but can you give me your source of information about the toxicity? do you have scientific studies of that? or simply you are guessing? I will appreciate your answer, thanks
Seemed pretty straightforward to me. Care to back up your claim? Why is it so far from reality?
Most helpfull. I think we might regret the 90,s .Who wants rows of prefabricated craters as an architectural statement especially producing hazardous waste in the conversion . It stinks of recession and desperation
Hi, I’m currently an undergrad at OSU looking into the use of shipping containers as potential for coastal subsidized housing communities in the Global South–specifically in Brazil and South Africa. I’d be really interested in acquiring your sources, especially about toxicity levels.
Please contact me at stults.8@osu.edu
Eu gostaria de saber como fazer para retirar os residuos toxicos, já que estão impregnados nos conteiners.
Obrigado.
Shipping container floors are treated with:
“IM/ Tailileum 300/2006,” which contains formaldehyde. Google it.
I copied this from a container on our property that was manufactured in China, in 2007.
Shipping container floors are treated with:
“IM/ Tailileum 300/2006,” which contains formaldehyde. Google it.
I copied this from a container on our property that was manufactured in China, in 2007.
CYa