How Academia Changes What We Think About Shipping Containers

The new application possibilities of shipping containers have already managed to attract the attention of various communities including artists, designers and architects. Universities are also applying shipping containers in their research on engineering, arts and human sciences. Here we will present some examples.

Shanghai’s Tongji university’s students came up with an idea of a light-weight, solar-powered and self-sufficient house that could be built out of shipping containers. Their work, the Y container, is a structure that uses photovoltaic panels for heating floor and water. The six containers form wings that direct wind for natural ventilation. The Y container was built for a Chinese couple that could not afford independent housing. (via Inhabitat)

The students of Geneva University of Art and Design together with Bureau A built a container housing complex that helps to observe people’s living habits. The eight inhabitable shipping container pods all have different functions. For example one container is meant to study people’s engagement in communal decision making. (via BUREAU A)

As we can see through these examples, the academic communities worldwide contribute to finding new applications for shipping containers. New applications attract new stakeholders and create more demand.

 

The catch of this story is that no matter how many applications they come up with, the standardized shipping containers themselves will stay the same. They will also be provided by Shanghai Metal Corporation. You can visit our website to find more details about our shipping containers. Check also our social media platforms for future updates.

    

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: BUREAU A, Inhabitat

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