The Shipping News

SUSTAINABLE LIVING | by CELESTE TELL

I LOVE THE IDEA OF MODULAR and prefab construction. Always have. I am sucker for a Michelle Kaufman house and have recently been following a German company whose Lego-like prefab blocks allow for all sorts of creative applications.

SOURCE: WWW.CONTAINERCITY.COM

But the thing that gets me, hands down, is shipping containers. Used shipping containers are sitting around, stacking up in storage yards across the U.S. and around the world due primarily to global trade imbalances. Building with these orphaned containers saves on raw materials and energy that would otherwise go into fabricating structural steel, concrete or other materials.

These industrial-strength structures are being used for everything from cabins, homes and large-scale housing projects to schools and commercial and retail applications. A bevy of visionary 21^st century architects, engineers, designers, developers and manufacturers are experimenting with reusing these heavy-duty, structural steel boxes in all sorts of creative and innovative ways.

And, of course, they’re modular. Each unit measures eight feet wide by either 20 or 40 feet long and either 8.5 or 9.5 feet high, and weigh between 4,500 and 9,000 pounds. So two small ones equals a big one, and a big one equals two small ones. Just like building with blocks, and allowing for an infinite number of configurations. Think of them as providing the structure, floor, roof and walls. Windows, skylights and other openings can be cut into walls and roof, and the interiors fitted out just like any other interior.

Because the teams working on these creative reuse projects are committed to green building, the utility systems, windows, interiors and other added elements are also green, sustainable and low impact.  Seriously. Sustainable. Living.