Net-Zero Prefab Shipping Container Home by Missouri S&T

Net-Zero Prefab Home

Construction
Video
About Missouri S&T Solar House Design Team





Design: Missouri University of Science and Technology
Project: The Nest Home
Year: 2015
Photos: Mike Chino

Three shipping containers were used by Missouri University of Science and Technology students for construction net-zero prefab shipping container homes that have reasonable prices and they are safe. A bird’s nest became an inspiration for choosing the shape of the Nest Home, for building of which recycled materials were used. There are also several sustainable systems, such as efficient lighting, a hydroponic garden and grey water reuse. Solar panels provide the house with enough energy for all needed aims and an electric vehicle. During Solar Decathlon 2015 international competition this project was created. Solar Decathlon challenges student teams to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house.

The Nest Home was constructed for a growing family. The net-zero prefab shipping container home includes private and common spaces, but the living space can be enlarged with the help of containers that can be added to the Nest Home. There are reused materials, from which made everything in house. For example, the wood siding is made from refurbished shipping pallets, the carpeting is made from reused fishing nets and insulation is made from recycled denim batting.

For powering the house and an electric vehicle there are 24 photovoltaic panels. Each panel contains a micro-inverter for transforming direct current to alternating current, and a centralized inverter is not required. The optimal temperature in the house maintains by automated windows that support the HVAC system. There are also automated lightning for saving energy and sensors for detecting the empty house. Three hydroponic gardens provide the owners with fresh vegetables and herbs. The greywater reclamation helps to provide irrigation for the bathroom and the gardens. So, the water consumption of the net-zero prefab container home is reduced up to 25 percent.





“Everything from the architecture of the home, to the expandability of the home, to the systems in place are designed and implemented to provide comfort and convenience for the residents,” says Mary Puleo, the team’s project manager and an environmental engineering senior from St. Louis. “However, its adaptable nature makes it ideal for any stage of family life, from a full nest to an empty nest.”

PV14 - 2 Story 3 Bedroom Shipping Container Home, Dallas, Texas

Floor plans, facades and sections

Construction process

Location

About M Gooden Design

About AG&E Structural Engenuity

Project	PV14
Architect	M Gooden Design
Structural engineer	AG&E Structural Engenuity
Containers	14
Area	3700 sf
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3.5
Year	2014
Location	Dallas, Texas, USA
Photography	Wade Griffith, Kurt Griesbach

This 3 bedroom shipping container home is located not far from White Rock Park, at the same street, and it is one of the highest elevations in Dallas, Texas, and it is about 100’ above White Rock Lake’s surface. The lake is just about 1,000 feet away to the southwest.

To create a unique design and to build a modern and unequalled house were the main purposes for the architects. The residence should be appropriate to the specific site and the technologies for house’s erection should be readily available, but at the same time not very often used in nowadays residence building. The house is a two-story single family residence which includes small penthouse with roof deck access. There are 3 bedroom, 3.5 bathrooms, ground level entertainment area, 2 car garage + storage bay, porte cochere, large roof deck with panoramic view and elevated covered porches adjacent to main living areas.

The majestic scenery of the lake, the trees all around it and the City can be seen from the 2 story shipping container home. And that is the main advantage of house’s high location and its axis is aligned with the City street grid to the Southwest.

Shipping containers can help refugees - concept by Middelkoop Architecten

In the context of the influx of refugees to the Netherlands the returntainer has been developed. This container unit is designed and insulated so comfortable living is perfectly possible. The interior can be finished with insulated panels, kitchen and bathroom are also provided. Several units can be connected to provide larger family shelter.

The container unit is fabricated by removing the standard container doors and a few sections of sidewall. These details can be stored in order to be used again if a relocation will be desired. Regarding the location the container unit concept can be implemented on almost any temporary vacant lot or even in agricultural areas.

Made from high quality steel, shipping containers have excellent fire resistance. These properties are especially important for refugee camps and can save people's lives.

Contact us for more information about container homes.

return.tainer concept by Middelkoop Architecten
www.tainer.nl
www.livingprojecthomes.com

2500 sq ft Shipping Container Resort Home, Malaysia

Video

Design: Anand Bungalows
Area: 2,500 square foot
Containers: 6
Year: 2010
Location: Malaysia
Photos: Ken Kwok




This awesome Container Resort Home was designed and built by Anand Bungalows in Malaysia and the construction includes natural ventilation, rainwater harvesting, plus water and energy efficient design.

The Container Resort Home is located in Bukit Tinggi, Pahang and it consists of six, stacked shipping containers – four of which are oriented south and north, and two oriented at an angle of 90° - west and east. The four 40 ft containers are stacked 2x2 to create a two-story volume with the windows and doors oriented to the north direction to form partial enclosures and shade for the windows and balconies. In between the two perpendicularly located container volumes, an intermediate double height atrium was designed and constructed allowing for proper natural ventilation – the windows on opposing sides encourage efficient cross ventilation and due to the air pressure difference a hot air rises naturally.

The home was built on a reinforced concrete pier foundation, has a light footprint and low impact to the surrounding land. Provided by the project the large shed roofs help to keep sun off the containers surface and minimize heat gain from direct sunlight, while directing and collecting rainwater into a large storage cistern located underneath the house. The houshold grey water from dishwasher, kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks, showers and tubs is recycled and used in the gardens along with the rainwater. Moreover, natural daylighting, energy-efficient appliances and low flow water fixtures help reduce the footprint of the container home even further.

20 foot Shipping Container Outdoor Room, Australia

About Royal Wolf




The Shipping Container Outdoor Room has been designed to provide an extra space for various purposes. Portable and innovative, the Container Outdoor Room can be transformed into a modern space solution for retail, business or residential applications such as a retreat, home office, chill out zone or spare bedroom. Ideal for those working from home, teenagers retreat, extended family, ‘pop-up’ retail events or entertainment room, festivals, expos and much more.

The 20 foot modular prefab unit features lighting, power, flooring, air conditioning, glass sliding doors and superior insulation. The Room is delivered as a ‘blank slate’ and it can be used, decorated and furnished to create whatever interior type of room area is needed. Mixing contemporary design and practicality, the Container Outdoor Room can be delivered directly to buyer's site with the added advantage of being able to be repositioned to another site or removed if required.

Shipping Container Home Design for Hot Climate, Thailand

Location	Krabi, Thailand
Containers	4
Year	2010
Project cost	US $39,000

This amazing shipping container home design was created by owner specially for hot climate of Krabi province in Thailand. Due to proximity of the location to the equator, there is little variation in high and low temperatures in the course of the year. Krabi has an average annual low of 25 °C (77 °F) and an annual high of 32 °C (90 °F).




The home consists of 4 containers: 2 of them create space for kitchen, shop, and storage downstairs; other 2 containers are for living area upstairs. White color was chosen to maximize the reflection of sunlight and to prevent heating of the walls surface.

All-Electric Shipping Container Office Building, Rhode Island, USA

Construction

About Truth Box

Project	The Box Office
Designer	Distill Studio
Developer	Truth Box
Location	Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Containers	32
Year	2009
Photos	Nat Rea, Glen Turner

The Box Office was constructed from 32 shipping containers in Providence, Rhode Island, on the former Harris Lumber site. The shipping container office building consists of 12 studio/office spaces. Joe Haskett from Distill Studio created the design and the project was developed by Truth Box.

Among the many green features are:

• using recycled containers;
• a super tight, well-insulated exterior with high thermal performance doors and windows;
• high efficiency heat pumps (air source) in each unit;
• ERVs (energy recovery ventilators) to provide fresh air and to conserve energy;
• solar panel array (10 KwH) on the roof (the building is "all electric").

The Box Office uses 22 KBTU/sf/year, or about 25% of a "typical" office building.

Windows location is strategically designed to provide the most indoor daylight with the most effective openings sizes; the result are well-lit and comfortable interiors with superior air quality in the units, even though the Box Office is nestled between a major urban roadway, a train track and a highway.

140.000 € Two Story Shipping Container House, Spain

Floor Plans

About architect

Architects	James & Mau
Area	190 m2 (2045 ft2)
Containers	4
Location	El Tiemblo, Spain
Budget	140.000 €
Year	2010
Builder	Infiniski
Building time	6 months
Furniture / Decoration	Becara
Photos	Pablo Sarabia

This two story shipping container house consists of four 40' High Cube shipping containers assembled in L-shape structure. There are living room, kitchen, bathroom and area for visitors (with a small living room and two bedrooms for guests) on the ground floor and study, bathroom and master bedroom on the second floor.

The location of the site is above an altitude of 1,100 meters, so it is a cold place in winter and ecological biomass heating system is used for heating. The main facade oriented toward the south on the stunning views of the valley and nearby mountain while receiving direct rays of the sun in winter to heat the main exterior facade. Two trees located near southern wall, so sun radiation is gradually absorbed by the vegetation, which creates an outer green skin to protect the house from heat in summer. The organization of doors and windows allows a refreshing natural ventilation. The inner enclosure is made of cellulose fiber insulation from recycled newsprint and cork in some places. The house achieves a 70% (measured by weight) of recycled and reused components. Taps and sanitary equipment have low water consumption.

The construction system operates on a modular design, with some prefab details to reduce transport costs and pollution on site. The modular system suggests the full realization of the house integrating possible rapid and consistent space expansion in case the client needs change over time.

Transportable Shipping Container Bar

Once a staple of ports and scrapyards, shipping containers have taken on new life as the must-have design element of the moment, their gritty, sturdy frames doubling as a neighborhood bar, a mailroom, an office conference area, even a backyard farm.

Shipping Container Bar, Berlin

Shipping Container Bar, Dallas, Texas

Shipping Container Bar, Boston, MA

Container Bar, Alberta, Canada

Container Brewery, Toronto, Canada

Container Patio

Barneveld Noord Shipping Container Railway Station, Netherlands

Floorplans and Sections
Location
About NL Architects
About Strukton

Architects:	NL Architects
Builder:	Strukton
Containers:	6x20ft and 1x40ft
Year:	2013
Location:	Utrecht, Netherlands

Frames of the three 20 ft shipping containers with glass walls form the main area in the Barneveld Noord Shipping Container Railway Station, which includes waiting area and cafe. Another three 20 ft containers form the second layer, one of these containers creates double-high ceiling in the waiting area, second contains technical installations, other contains storage. The seventh container is 40 ft and flipped to an upright position. It makes a tower, which contains a clock and a wind vane. The tower holds a lavatory, topped by a glass roof and is 12 m high.





Description by architects

ProRail, responsible for the railway network in the Netherlands, together with the so called spoorbouwmeester Koen van Velsen (‘the national supervisor for railway architecture’) started a campaign to make waiting more comfortable: Prettig Wachten.

Travelers experience waiting on a station as much longer then waiting within a vehicle. Surveys have indicated that waiting time is experienced as 3 times longer than it actually is. In this respect especially small and medium sized stations proof a big challenge. These smaller stations are usually unmanned, desolate, often creating a sense un-safety. What can we do to improve them?

The waiting areas of in total twenty stations throughout the country will be upgraded, both functionally and cosmetically: introduction of washrooms, wifi, floor heating, railway TV. Or Art!

One of the keys to the success of Prettig Wachten is to introduce human presence on these stations, to create some sort of informal supervision. An effort is made to create small multifunctional shops. In Wolvega for instance a flower shop will be opened, the florist will also be serving coffee and will even be cleaning the restrooms.

In Barneveld Noord a bike-repair shop will be included run by people that are ‘differently able’. They will contribute to the maintenance and hopefully prevent the broken window syndrome. In Barneveld Noord a new station will be build. Well station, perhaps more a bus-stop. But then again, quite an intriguing bus-stop… It is supposed to be a temporary structure. Hence the station will be build out of shipping containers. The containers contain space, but also form space.





They will be combined into an explicit arrangement. Together they form an ambiguous but strong sign. Minimum effort, maximum output. Three containers are ‘suspended’ in the air. Together they form a ‘roof’. One contains the installations, the other storage. The third will be opened at the bottom. It forms the headroom for the enclosed but fully transparent waiting area, creating a double high space.

The fourth container is flipped to an upright position. It makes an instant tower. The tower contains a clock. And a wind vane. Since Barneveld is the egg capital of the Netherlands -the station is located on the so-called Chicken Line- not the typical rooster will be mounted, but a gilded chicken. The tower holds a lavatory, 11.998mm high, topped by a glass roof. Royal Flush.

Shipping Container Homes and Buildings by Living Project, Netherlands

 Aluminium Facade Home

Vacation Home, Norway

Startup Village, Amsterdam

Schiphol Truck Parking

About Living Project

Why sea containers?

When sea containers were developed in the 1930s, this was done with modularity in mind. The containers also had to be able to withstand every climate and weather. So they had to face freezing cold, storm, rain, snow and salt water. And that is why the sea container is built in such a way that it can withstand the toughest elements to protect the valuable cargo inside the container. Because containers are made from Corten, rust and corrosion cannot affect the containers.

Our container homes are turnkey homes based on standard sea containers, making them easily and with complete normal road and sea transport available worldwide in a completely finished form. The sea containers serve as a basis. They are then built down as houses. This type of home can be placed on any type of foundation and can be finished with any desired finish. It is of course also possible not to coat the container from the outside and to retain the industrial look.




Naturally, all containers can be easily linked and stacked if a larger surface area has to be created. In addition to housing, this way of construction can also be extremely suitable for student housing, temporary housing, refugee housing, garden houses, storage rooms, office spaces, holiday homes, etc.

Living Project uses only the most modern, efficient and sustainable materials and technologies to build your home. Thanks to the spacious factory and the skilled employees, we can be of quick and professional service. The basis of our modular homes are new or used standard sea containers, which are then fully finished in accordance with customer requirements.

The choice of materials for the construction of our container houses is countless. You can choose from aluminum or plastic frames with double or triple insulated / laminated glass, interior walls of robust wooden panels or walls that are smoothly plastered and painted white, a modern or classic kitchen or bathroom and so on. The choice is very extensive.

Naturally, all Living Project shipping container houses are well insulated. You can also choose from different insulation materials, each with its own values ​​and properties.

Container construction offers reliability, speed and functionality. It also offers risk-free and effective solutions that meet the requirements of private homeowners, investors, contractors, public and private institutions.

Our container construction offers the flexibility to build better structures with high precision. Steel guarantees reliability and speed.

Another major advantage of container construction is the fact that sea containers are self-supporting. This means that in an area with an earthquake risks, container houses will reliably stand.

Container construction also offers the possibility of designing various constructions that are not possible with traditional construction.

There are four types of sea containers that we use in our construction process. The dimensions of the standard ISO containers are as follows:

- 20ft ISO container (L) 6.06 m x (W) 2.44 m x (H) 2.59 m = 14.77 m² floor space
- 20ft ISO container HC (L) 6.06 m x (W) 2.44 m x (H) 2.90 m = 14.77 m² floor space
- 40ft ISO container (L) 12.19 m x (W) 2.44 m x (H) 2.59 m = 29.72 m² floor space
- 40ft ISO container HC (L) 12.19 m x (W) 2.44 m x (H) 2.90 m = 29.72 m² floor space

Living Project has a number of standard home models in the range. Of course it is also possible to build your own custom container home with unique layout and dimensions that meet your requirements.

Process

It is important that you know how the cooperation will work with us from the first contact to the moment we deliver your property. We divide this process into the phases listed below.

● Introduction / orientation (free)

In the introductory phase you, as a potential buyer / client, let us know if you are interested in our container construction. This often involves asking questions that have not yet been answered and discussing global ideas. In this phase we will work with you to see whether the global ideas you have are feasible in terms of design, permit, time limit, financing, etc.

● Design phase

In this phase, the plans are made more concrete, whereby you can clearly state what your wishes are. You can also show your own sketch designs, photos or other examples. We appreciate this very much, because it gives a good idea of ​​your wishes.

Based on our discussion, we make one or more 2D and / or 3D designs. The costs associated with this are € 100 per design with a maximum of two containers, € 200 per design with three to six containers and € 300 for a design with more than six containers. We can also send you a specified quotation based on the 3D design we have made.

The average starting price of a turnkey container home is around € 800 per square meter. It is true that as more containers are used, the square meter price will become (considerably) lower.




● Contract

The General Terms and Conditions apply to all agreements with Living Project, as you can find on our site. At your first request, a copy of our Terms and Conditions will be sent by post. The purchase / contracting agreement includes all drawings, calculations and descriptions with regard to the construction plan.

● Construction phase

After signing the purchase / contracting agreement, Living Project starts the preparations for the construction. You can stop by at any time to see how the work is progressing. If desired, we can keep you up-to-date by sending photos and videos.

● Delivery

During the delivery, we will check with you whether everything has been carried out properly and whether there are any delivery points that need to be resolved.

Caterpillar House - Shipping Container Home, Santiago, Chile

About Sebastián Irarrázaval Architects

Architect: Sebastián Irarrázaval
Area: 350 sq m
Containers: 12 shipping containers: six 20-foot (6-m) units, five 40-foot (12-m) units and open-top shipping container for swimming pool.
Location: Santiago, Chile
Year: 2012
Photography: Sergio Pirrone





Construction of the 350-square-metre container house took just 8 months compared to a year or more, pointing out one of the many benefits of prefabricated construction. It also cost a 1/3 less. The site was first cleared of loose clay and rocks, and concrete retaining walls were erected to enclose the living areas on the ground level. Outdoor stairs at one end lead up to a side deck, with an open container serving as a cantilevered lap pool. To support the upper level, a massive steel cross­beam and posts anchor the containers that line up in four side-by-side volumes, each with its own viewfinder window at either end. The containers were trucked to the site and then cut and welded before being craned into place. Polyurethane was sprayed on, and the entire structure was clad in steel plates.

Contertainer - Shipping Container Public Facility - Polyclinic and Library, Indonesia

About Dpavilion Architects

Design: Dpavilion Architects
Location: Kota Batu, East Java, Indonesia
Containers: 8
Photography: Ganny Gozaly




Description from architects

"Contertainer, designed by dpavilion architects of Surabaya – Indonesia, is an amalgam of two words: container and entertainer. From its outer look, at a glance one can see an architectural form made of several brightly painted containers—red, yellow, blue and light green—in attractive position and composition, thus forming a contertainer.

Principal architects of dpavilion, Edwin Nafarin, once muttered: “I want to create architecture that would please many”. Contertainer is one of his works that manifests his architectural creed.

Contertainer Is situated in Batu, East Jawa, Indonesia. Batu is a relatively new town which still retains a strong agricultural nuance. Perhaps it is a town with a village-like atmosphere. Contertainer is a public facility, consisting of a polyclinic and a library, where ordinary people can come and use the facilities for free. The appearance of the contertainer in town can be perceived through various angles, for the appearance of an architectural work would be followed by many effects which it produces.

One question to reveal: why dpavilion architects, as a designer of polyclinic and public library, started its idea from container? Perhaps there are several factors. First, a logical one: container is a firm structure with human-scaled spatial aspect (in spite of its real purpose as container of goods), so it is rather practical, quick and cheap to be transformed into architectural work (a 2,4m x12m used container costs only 8 million rps, there are 8 containers). Second, a morphological factor: container has a unique characteristic, a hollow block with standardized sizes, with potentialities to be designed with extreme and provocative manner. Third, symbolical factor: these containers, now utilized as a polyclinic and library, had travelled around the globe. Hence, a container is a true adventurer.

The containers utilized as a polyclinic and library are used container, a true adventurer, is undoubtedly representing the library. Books, “the windows to the world”, are placed inside such container; an appropriate collaboration, is it not? May it stimulate the children reading at the library, fulfilling their curiousities to explore terra incognita.




Also, a container has dynamic nature, it moves and shifts, yet it also transformed into static, unshifting architectural being. To force a container to remain still, is seemingly against its dynamic nature. Yet the designers celebrate its dynamic form through a twisted, non-linear composition. This is enhanced with supporting columns placed uncongruently, making the contertainer enjoys its dynamism.

The contertainer is also a parody, the dichotomy of architecture as a place for activities (which considers human scale) and as expression (expressing emotion and the will of artist), the contertainer exhibits containers of goods as containing human beings. We may ponder upon this: how important is human being for architecture? How un-important is human being for architecture?"

$150,000 Shipping Container House, Springfield, Missouri

About architects

Design	Jason Mitchell and Michael Mardis
Total Cost	$150,000
Containers	4
Location	Springfield, Missouri
Year	2010
Photography	Jess Heugel

With a budget of $150,000, Marti Montgomery used four shipping containers to build a home on the land she's dreamed of living on for decades.

Shipping Container House with Dynamic Facade, Chile

Floor plans

About James & Mau

Project: Casa Manifesto
Design: James & Mau, Infiniski
Area: 160 sqm
Year: 2009
Execution Time: 90 days
Total Cost: 79.000 €
Containers: 3
Location: Curacavi, Chile
Photography: Antonio Corcuera




Bioclimatic design, recycling, reuse, reduction of building materials; clean and renewable energy use. All these concepts converge in the Casa Manifesto - recycled shipping container house designed by James & Mau and built by Infiniski.

The structure consists of the three shipping containers, combined with other materials such as wood, recycled aluminum and others. The construction is based on a modular prefabricated design, which allows to limit transport costs and pollution on site. This system suggests the complete realization of the house design, integrating possible extensions - fast and consistent, in case the client's space needs will change over time.

In this case, the result is an inner area 160 m2 divided into two floors. The ground floor is occupied by a large common area, which includes living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and terraces. The master bedroom with bath, living room, two rooms with shared bathrooms and terraces form the area of the second floor.

Its location, on top of a hill dominating the landscape, generating a permeability in its east-west axis. Through a large glass area, the sensation of being in the most social area of the house is to be under a big bridge in the middle of nowhere.

The shipping container house is spread around this great common space with volumes much more closed in the north-south axis. At the same time intentionally, the construction system of the house is covered with skin, playing through its horizontal elements, generates a wealth of light and shade that helps to dematerialize the volumes. The house, with its materials, it becomes a living architectural object.

The shape of the shipping container house with dynamic facade itself responds to a bioclimatic design to suit the climat conditions of the place. So, the house "dresses" in summer and "undressing" winter sun through facades and roof skin. To achieve this architects used two types of skin: one based on fixed horizontal wood slats and other mobile pallet, which can be opened individually to control solar radiation. It also serves as ingenious aesthetic finish to help integrate it into its rural surroundings.

The inner enclosure is formed by recycled cellulose insulation projected onto the sheet inside the container and ecological finished panels of gypsum and cellulose fiber. With these elements of passive thermal insulation, and the incorporation of alternative energy technology (solar thermal panels) the recycled shipping container house achieves 70% energy independence.

Description by the project team.

On the top of a hill as if it were a castle or fortress, strategically located and dominating a wonderful landscape, this shipping container house generates a permeability in its east-west axis fading over the landscape through a large glazed space like who is under a large bridge in the middle of nowhere ... this effect being in the most social area of ​​the house gives a special magic and warmth to this place where watching the sunrise or sunset can be a playful experience.

The shipping container house is distributed around this large space with much more closed volumes in the north-south axis contrasting with the open side and thus generating a volumetric tension towards one of the views, at the same time they are the construction system of the house but that of in an intentional way they are dressed by a skin that, playing through its horizontal elements, generates a wealth of light and shadow that in turn dematerialize the volumes, thus completing, as a whole, a living architectural object and in a “stand by” position.

Concept: Design by James & Mau for Infiniski showing the greatest potential of the Infiniski concept: bioclimatic design, recycling, reuse and reduction of construction materials, non-polluting building materials and systems, use of renewable energy.

Shipping container house of 160 sqm interiors divided into two floors: a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and terraces on the ground floor; Main room with its bathroom, living room, two rooms with shared bathroom and terraces on the second floor.

The construction system works based on a modular design, prefabricated in the workshop that allows to limit transportation and pollution costs on site. The modular system allows us to think about the complete realization of the shipping container house, integrating possible rapid and coherent extensions in case the client's space needs change over time.

The Structure consists of three reused shipping containers. A container divided into two separate parts serves as a structural support for the two containers on the first floor. This porch-shaped structure creates an “inter-container” space that gives an extra surface, so that with only three containers (90m2) 160m2 are achieved. Thus the use of material is greatly reduced. In turn, the porch moves slightly on one side to create outdoor spaces with a terrace.

Form follows Energy. The shape of the house responds to a bioclimatic design that adapts according to the incidence of the climatic elements of the place. Thus the shipping container house is formed by a bridge beam system (porch) on the first floor that creates a vain on the ground floor. This is glazed on opposite facades so that they receive sun throughout the day and allows maximum ventilation. The house (portico) is deformed in the north-south axis, seeking and protecting itself from solar radiation from the north (southern hemisphere).

The house with dynamic facade "dresses and undresses" in summer and winter by means of a solar skin transventilated both on facades and on roofs (air separation chamber between skin and container facade / cover). It dresses with the skin in summer to protect itself from the sun creating a passive natural cooling effect. It undresses in winter to allow the incidence of the sun either on the sheet of the container or on the windows and create a passive natural heating effect.

Two types of façade skin were used: one based on fixed horizontal wood slats and another of mobile pallets that can be opened individually to control solar radiation. The skin of the cover is a light mesh of quitaipón according to the season of the year. The skin also serves as an aesthetic finish that is integrated into its rural environment.

The pergolas, allow to control the entrance of the direct sun through the windows. In the winter they rise to the maximum to allow the most widespread sun to enter and generate a greenhouse inside. In summer they are lowered more or less depending on the time of day and the outside temperature for a natural ventilation effect.




The interior enclosure is made up of recycled cellulose insulation projected on the inside of the container sheet and finished with ecological panels of cellulose fiber and plaster.

With these passive thermal insulation elements, and the incorporation of alternative energy technology (solar thermal panels) the house achieves an energy autonomy of 70%.

Recycled, reused and non-polluting materials:

- 40 ft High Cube reused shipping container for structure and enclosures
- Reused pallets for outer skin
- Sustainable forest wood for outer skin slats
- Projected cellulose of recycled newspaper for insulation of walls
- Recycled cellulose fiber panels
- Recycled galvanized steel for interior wall structure
- Ecological natural cork for ecological thermal insulation under floors
- Original 30mm plywood of the polished and varnished container for interior floors
- Reused Laurel wood from demolition floors for kitchen furniture and cabinets
- Reused Oregon pinewood with demolition beams for stair steps
- Fallebas (vertical closing bars) of reused container doors such as stair railing
- Ecological paint
- “Eco-label” tiles for bathroom tiles

The house achieves 85% (measured by weight) of recycled, reused and / or non-polluting materials.

Shipping Container Micro-House with Folding Wall, New Zealand

Drawings / Floor plan

About Atelierworkshop

Project: Port-A-Bach
Design: Atelierworkshop
Year: 2001 - 2006
Photography: Paul McCredie

Atelierworkshop believes shipping containers can be an effective answer for various scale architectural projects and if site access, portability, security, robustness are issues. This shipping container micro-house with folding wall was built in Hangzhou, China and transported to New Zealand. The prototype was a part of the exhibition of Puke Ariki Museum in New Plymouth (1/2013).




Description by project team.

The Port-A-Bach project by the architects of the Atelier Workshop is a shipping container micro-house built on the basis of a single transport container that has been set up on wheels for easy transport. The prototype was built in Hangzhou, China but has already been moved to New Zealand, where it is a permanent part of the collection of the Puke Ariki Museum in New Plymouth.

The shipping container micro-house can accommodate two adults and two children, and each inch was carefully designed to provide maximum comfort in the smallest space. Its interior is mostly made of wood - including a bathroom with an open shower, a sink and a composting toilet.

The kitchen has lots of storage furniture (some hidden, some exposed) and natural light filters in between your windows. The shipping container micro-house can be equipped with solar panels and rooftop wind turbines, allowing it to operate completely off-grid.

The flexible structure of the Port-A-Bach is able to unfold to expand connections to the outside and then to be closed again for relocation.

Features:

• fully enclosed exterior steel shell (when folded up)
• appointed with large internal storage cupboards and shelves / stainless steel kitchen and fittings / bathroom with open shower, sink, composting toilet,
• interior fabric screen system gives the versatility of creating rooms within the large open living space : includes bunk beds, double bed room, dressing room, kitchen and bathroom
• exterior canvas screen system allows to shelter the deck area for comfortable indoor/outdoor flow and living
• 6 concrete footings form a stable, non-invasive 'foundation', allowing you to situate the unit on a wide range of ground conditions

A holiday home:

• portable
• secure
• high-level finish
• designed to be environmentally clean
• comparatively inexpensive
• comfortably sleeps two adults and two children

That allows:

• transportation
• immediate, flexible and long-term solution that enables you to use your land without investing in a permanent property commitment
• for future development, ideal for leased land situations
• to be power, water and sewer independent, it is well suited to remote or non-service supplied land
• also be connected to available services
• quick and easy transportation (via truck or helicopter) and installation to any orientation with minimal impact on site
• unfolding to create a living space and refolding to create a secure unit for in situ storage or relocation

Shipping containers in loft apartment, San Francisco, California

Two San Francisco travel and art addicts overhauled a loft apartment and customized two shipping containers to reflect their passions and accommodate their collection.

About Lundberg Design

Design	Lundberg Design
Year	2008
Location	San Francisco, California
Photography	Drew Kelly

When the San Francisco couple says they love to travel, they don't mean trips to Napa. Over the past three summers Wardell put 15,500 miles on a motorcycle he and Sagan keep in Milan on rides from the Arctic Circle to southwestern Portugal. When Wardell began collecting street art in the mid-1990s, he admits, “it quickly became an obsession.” When he began dating Sagan several years ago, “we got serious about buying big.” Starting with local graffiti artist Barry McGee, they bought ever-more ambitious installations by stars like Shepard Fairey, JR, and Os Gemeos until they needed a bigger home to accommodate their approximately 120-piece collection.

In February of 2007 they purchased a 3,200-square- foot former Chinese laundry and tooth-powder factory with column-free interiors and a zigzagging sawtooth roof in lower Pacific Heights. As a former VP of real estate for Williams-Sonoma, “Claudia knew right away it had excellent bones,” says Wardell, a former financial advisor. The travelers also loved how the 127-foot-long loft seemed to stretch out to the horizon. “I walked up those front stairs, and I felt like I was at the edge of a highway, like I could keep going forever,” Sagan says. “I loved that feeling.”

Where some might box the cavernous space into cozier rooms, Wardell and Sagan wanted “to cele- brate that length,” Sagan says. The apartment lies on a north-south axis with large windows at either end. To showcase the art and maximize daylight, they decided to situate the master bedroom at the back, away from the street, but keep everything else open, with a central kitchen and living room and a den facing the street. They hired a local company to sandblast the interior to expose the board-formed concrete walls and replaced the carpeted floors with Georgia hickory pecan planks the longest, knottiest boards they could find to further lengthen the loft and make it look more like a warehouse. The next question was, “how do we make a home office and a guest bedroom happen without cluttering the space?” Sagan says.

For the guest room, “we wanted something our friends would tell everyone they knew about, but not so comfortable they would never leave,” Wardell explains. He wanted it to be a self-contained space with a Murphy bed, an element he remembered fondly from a train ride he took across Europe in his 20s. After considering plunking the interior compartment of a Pullman train car in the middle of the apartment, they landed on shipping containers.

“I contacted Hapag-Lloyd looking for an orange one in newer condition,” Wardell says. “But they?re German. They have rules. They wouldn't sell us one, but they put out a call that these nuts in San Francisco wanted containers for their house. In late 2007, we got word that the Port of Oakland had some used ones.” Sagan examined several before choosing. “A ton are just a mess,” she says. “You'll see a huge dent in the side and go, Wow, a wave did that? It's important to smell them, too, because they pick up odors from their cargo.”

In 2008, while a container reseller prepped the containers (replacing the original pesticide-treated floors, repainting the walls, cutting out holes for windows and plumbing), a structural engineer and builder reinforced the loft's floor with wooden joists to accommodate the nine-ton load. The containers arrived by flatbed truck one morning in late July; by midday, a crane had lowered them in through an opening in the roof, cantilevering the blue one, Wardell?s future home office, atop the orange one, the guest room.

For the container interiors, “the mood we wanted was raw,” Wardell says. There was only one caveat: The guest room “had to pass the Dottie test,” Sagan says. Her mother would be their first visitor that Christmas. “She was mortified by the idea of sleeping in a container,” Sagan says. “She said it sounded like a coffin.”

To customize the apartment and containers, Wardell brought in Pat Carson, a furniture designer and builder who shares the couple's love for travel and industrial design. When asked why his pieces have so many rivets, Carson grins, “I'm that guy on the airplane by the window, staring at the wings.” Over six months Carson designed and constructed 75 custom fixtures for the apartment, many with a kinetic, gadget-like charm. “A lot of the creative ideas I've had in the past 20 years are manifested in this house,” Wardell says.

The carbon fiber dining table, for example, opens on a hinge to form a V, an L or a straight line, with ball casters embedded in the legs so it can glide easily. Woven-leather bar stools swivel between the table and the kitchen island. Surrounded by exposed copper piping, the guest bathroom's teak-and-steel sink evokes the utilitarian atmosphere of a train car or ship cabin; in the master bathroom, tilt-out shelves in the shower hide shampoos. Just about the only convertible fixture Carson didn't build in its entirety is the liquid crystal “privacy wall” in the guest bath, which changes from clear to opaque at the flick of a switch.

Shortly before Dottie arrived, Carson installed the custom Murphy bed, which is clad in aluminum with dozens of rivets and rolls up on a pulley made from a mill wheel. The unconventional guest room passed with flying colors. “She was pleasantly surprised at how spacious and comfortable it was,” Sagan says. It's been a hit with subsequent guests as well. “We've found the container self-selects,” Wardell says. “Our friends who are the most fun choose to stay here.”

Maison Container Lille - 3 Bedroom Shipping Container Home, France

Floor plans / Elevations

Construction

About Patrick Partouche

Project	Maison Container Lille
Architect	Patrick Partouche
Area	240 sq m
Containers	8
Bedrooms	3
Year	2010

Maison Container Lille 3 bedroom shipping container home is composed of 8 standard shipping containers stacked on top of each other in a staggered arrangement. The exterior was painted a vibrant cherry red and the interior features bright white walls accented by red columns and metal finish work. The roof is more of a protective covering than a true water shedding element, and works more like a shade screen to let air flow around the roof and keep it from overheating. The windows have low-e coatings and are filled with argon for greater efficiency.

Inside the 240 sq m 3 bedroom shipping container home, the bottom floor includes a one car garage, storage, kitchen, dining and living area with an open floor layout. Upstairs, part of the floors were cut out to create double height spaces for the ground floor. Metal catwalks cross the area to provide access to the three bedrooms, the bathroom and the office. Metal parts that were cut away from the containers were used to create furniture and decorative elements like artwork, tables and a bed.

Description by architect

Can an old dream come true?

The world is changing: Always faster, always stronger, always more expensive.

Innovation is necessary and of public utility! The new challenges of the planet, financial crises, media campaigns have changed mentalities.

A flaw in a traditional system of thought, in uses, in cultures and in architectural aesthetics.

New technologies and techniques allow the reduction of costs while bringing qualitative improvements. The production of prefabricated housing, more efficient, less expensive, inevitably represents the future of construction.

The modification container process is a first step in this process. The next step will be mass production on industrial assembly lines. In the service of accommodation, comfort, safety, performance.

Computerized design, manufacturing in the workshop under optimum working conditions for the workers. Road, sea and air transport. Assembly on site, in record time. All these criteria are emblematic of the emergence of a new architecture taking into account the constraints of the current world and its sustainability.

The old dream comes true!

Description

The 3 bedroom shipping container home is built from 8 prefabricated units, transported by truck and assembled on site using a crane. 

The assembly lasted 3 days: 

Day 1 - ground floor

Day 2 - second floor

Day 3 - roof

The units were designed from 40' shipping containers, recycled and modified.

The area is 240m2 on 2 levels with a technical crawl space.

The exterior aesthetics are in accordance with local regulations.

The interior aesthetics are in agreement with the customers:

a contemporary industrial style, the choice of noble and authentic materials: painted steel, galvanized, lacquered, varnished, aluminum, wood, polycarbonate, glass and other industrial materials.

Large and numerous windows provide a lot of natural light.

Decorative elements were created with recycled metal container sheets.

On the ground floor: the living room, the kitchen, the garage, the toilet, the laundry room.

Upstairs: 3 bedrooms + 1 office + the bathroom + the shower room + the wv and a fourth bedroom to be finished by the customer.

The courage and intelligence of the customers made it possible to design this house.

The know-how and professionalism of the companies made it possible to achieve it.

THERMAL and ACOUSTIC STUDY OF 06/26/2010 - Approved design office:

The energy and phonic performances are remarkable.

The construction principle allows, depending on future availability, to increase the label High Energy Performance (HPE), Very High Energy Performance (THPE) up to the Low Consumption Building (BBC) label, by simply adding equipment.

Label achieved RT 2005 (Th-Ce):

Cep = 194.8 Kwehep / m2shon / year. Gain (%) / benchmark = + 6.74

Cepmax = 187.4 Kwehep / m2shon / year. Gain (%) / benchmark = + 25.04

With accessories:

possible label HPE 2005 with exterior joinery equipment, Uw = 1.60

Cep = 173.18 Kwehep / m2shon / year. Gain (%) / benchmark = + 21.7

possible label THPE 2005 with equipment of photovoltaic collectors,

Cep = 161.62 Kwehep / m2shon / year. Gain (%) / benchmark = + 33.2

possible label THPE 2005 with thermodynamic water heater equipment,

Cep = 161.03 Kwehep / m2shon / year. Gain (%) / benchmark = + 33.8

possible label THPE 2005 with equipment of an Air / water heat pump,

Cep = 114.32 Kwehep / m2shon / year. Gain (%) / benchmark = + 80.5

possible BBC label with equipment for the 3 equipment,

Cep = 47.3 Kwehep / m2shon / year. Gain (%) / benchmark = + 147.5

Exceptional sound and acoustic performance:

Vertical and horizontal separation of each prefabricated unit.

Decameron - Low Budget Colorful Shipping Container Store, Brazil

This ISO container building was designed and built of six ISO containers and existing double height hangar structure, taking advantage of the cubic volume and the linearity of the container spaces. Huge sliding polycarbonate doors connect the building with an inner garden and the city.

Drawings

About Studio MK27

Project: Decameron
Design: Studio MK27
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Containers: 6
Site area: 540 sqm
Built area: 250 sqm
Architect: Marcio Kogan
Co-architects: Mariana Simas
Architecture team: Danilo Terra, Maria Cristina Motta, Oswaldo Pessano, Pedro Tuma
Interiors team: Diana Radomysler
Landscape designer: Renata Tilli
Structure engineer: Pouguett Engenharia e Projetos
General contractor: Terra Gaia
Project year: May 2008
Completion year: January 2011
Photographer: Pedro Vannucchi




In a trendy spot on the most popular decoration street in the city, Gabriel Monteiro da Silva Mall, the last empty lot remained.

The client rented the land and instructed the architect to develop a very low-cost project, something that could be quickly built, respecting the existing trees.

The idea was to use shipping containers, reuse a finished object, a surplus from the current intense exchange of goods.

The project was organized into two container tunnels, taking advantage of the linearity of their internal spaces, and a double-height hangar connected to them, a contrasting cubic volume. Huge polycarbonate sliding doors connect the store with the city and an internal garden.

Modular Shipping Container Home in Mojave Desert, California

About Echo Tech Design

About 44 West Construction

Project	The Tim Palen Studio at Shadow Mountain
Design	Walter Scott Perry, Echo Tech Design
Contractor	Eric Engheben, 44 West Construction
Containers	6
Area	1,200 SF living area + 1,000 SF film studio
Bedrooms	1
Bathrooms	1
Location	Joshua Tree, California, USA
Year	2010
Cost	$150/SF
Photography	Jack Parsons

The modular shipping container home is composed of diverse steel elements, including: 6 repurposed containers, a 10,000 gallon water tank, a Butler pre-engineered building, and a steel shade canopy with integrated metal framing system that provides wind, fire and earthquake protection, extraordinary strength, as well as large door and window openings to maximize cooling, ventilation, and natural daylighting. An adjustable, bolt-on shade and steel frame system creates wind, glare and 50% solar heat reduction on the house; solar breezeway creates suitable location for plug-in attachment of future water heating panel and solar electric arrays.

By combining mass-produced and high-efficiency modular construction methods with contemporary innovative design in one of the most harsh climate zones in United States, designers have developed a sustainable and low-cost housing system that can be delivered and quickly assembled anywhere in the world.

Description from architects

A prototype hybrid house, also known as the Tim Palen Studio at Shadow Mountain is the first repurposed container home permitted and built in the Mojave Desert. Based on the fuel-efficient Prius automobile engineering concept, the residence combines the energy and production efficiencies of diverse pre-engineered building and energy systems working together seamlessly to produce a smooth-running hybrid green machine for living.

The residence is a prototype of 2nd generation pre-fab design and a kit-like housing product developed by ecotechbuild, the design-build subsidiary of ecotechdesign. It is constructed from 5-20′ long recycled cargo containers that were fabricated and finished in Los Angeles and then shipped to the site where they were erected and stacked 2 high in 15 minutes each. All site work, including foundations and utility placement was constructed at the remote desert site during container fabrication in Los Angeles.

The residence is the 1 bedroom, 1-1/2 bath, 2 story model hybridhouse_1 design that has been adapted for a media client who required a separate photo studio and storage building. The studio is constructed of a Butler pre-engineered steel building with plug-in cargo container storage. It is naturally daylite with 22″ dia. Solutubes, which can be manually controlled and temperature balanced using efficient, dimmable strip lighting.

The container residence and the pre-engineered, steel studio structure act as two bookends that support framing and, in turn a perforated metal shade canopy that wraps the container’s roof, south-facing steel walls and the dramatic 20′ high outside living space, aka solar breezeway to provide protection against desert heat, glare, wind and blowing sand. The breezeway, in turn moderates and then directs a flow of air through the container spaces to enhance passive cooling. A naturally lit, steel-clad stair structure connects the 2 level stacked containers and doubles as a 20′ story high photo gallery in which to display artwork.




Other features include:

• Hybrid House Design: based on the efficient Prius engineering concept, the hybrid house concept combines diverse, pre-engineered building and energy conservation features to maximize efficiency and cost savings, while offering architectural design flexibility and variation.
• All Recycled Steel Construction: the project is composed of diverse components, including: (6) repurposed ISO cargo containers, a Butler pre-engineered building, a 10,000 gal. storage tank, at solar shade canopy and an integrated steel framing system that provides extraordinary strength, earthquake, fire and wind protections, as well as large window and door openings to maximize natural daylighting, ventilation and cooling.
• Solar Home Shading System: a bolt-on, adjustable steel frame and perforated metal shade system creates 50% solar heat, glare and wind reduction on the building and solar breezeway and allows for the plug-in attachment of future solar electric and water heating panel arrays.
• Living Roof System: movable, bolt and add-on modules use greywater irrigation and are planted with native desert plants and sedums to absorb heat, glare, dust and CO2.
• Water Conservation: integrated greywater for irrigation, water harvesting and storage systems.
• Energy Conservation: an innovative steel framework allows for the placement of a “cool roof” and insulation system and a triple wall insulation system combine to create a building envelope that exceeds California energy code requirements by 50%. All appliances, fixtures and heating systems are Energy Star rated.
• Reduced Costs: Finished construction costs, including footings and sitework was $150/SF, far below construction costs for comparable prefab home or manufactured home construction.