containers for sustainability

Container architecture is not a new topic. However, lately it turns out to be more popular due to the environmental concerns in architecture, because the shipping containers are ideal elements for upcycling. They are structurally very strong as being designed to carry heavy loads. Besides, the modularity and pre-fabrication reduces the time for designing, planning and transport, which make the construction low cost and fast. Another aspect that makes them low cost and sustainable is their wide availability, especially in port cities. Considering all these advantages, it seems that architects will be using containers as long as they exist for shipping.

Left: ‘Home-Office‘ by Sculpt(it)                Right: ‘Container City‘ by Urban Space Management

Most of the examples of container architecture are either housing or office. However there are also many other uses of containers like as restaurants, exhibition spaces, museums, shops etc., which can also benefit from the portability of the container construction.

Left: ‘Puma City‘ -mobile shopping store-by LOT-EK       Right: ‘Muvbox‘ Fast Food Restaurant

Shipping container city, Cholula, Mexico

Created by a comunity of bussinesses, the shipping container city in Mexico is composed of 50 standard shipping containers on a 4500 squaremeter land featuring restaurants, galleries, bars, shops and housing. It stands out with the open spaces (courtyards, terraces and streets) created by the decent organization of the containers.

Cop15 Pavillion,  Copenhagen, Denmark

The latest example that reminded us of the containers, was the Cop15 Pavillion that was designed by Danish Architects MAPT for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen. The sustainability was achieved by upcycling the shipping containers for construction, and using the surplus products from the wood and wind-turbine industries for the interior space. The pavillion housed an interactive exhibition focusing on urban sustainability.

Although the modular arrangement enables the designer to create various compositions, the container architecture is still limited with the cubicalness of the component. However the designers are now exploring the further potentials of the containers either by detaching and rearranging the pieces or by using parametric softwares to generate different compositions . Here are some student projects displaying these different approaches in container architecture:

‘Duplo’ by Radek Stach, IaaC 2008-2009, Self-Sufficient Buildings Studio

‘Exhibiton Space’ by Asli Aydin, METU 2009-2010, CompArch Program