The Many Architectural Applications of Shipping Containers vol.9

Today shipping container architecture is applied in housing, entertainment, education and recreation to name but a few. They are also used to build sports facilities. Here are some examples.

The Las Vegas design studio M-rad‘s design of the extreme sports park puts recycled containers into reuse and takes a full advantage of them. The 42-acre container complex built near the Las Vegas strip combines accommodation, commercialism and food production.

The sports park has versatile options for recreation. The shallow lake in the middle of the park and its beaches enable people to do surfing or engage in other physical activities. There are also motocross tracks and skate parks among many sports venues.

Visitors of the park can stay at luxurious container hotel towers that offer an 180 degree view on the park site. The container construction site consists of three container towers of which two belong to the hotel. The third one is a production facility for local organic food. Harvesting is done with the help of wind and solar energy that along with natural ventilation meet 80 percent of the parks energy production.

Another sports related instance of shipping container architecture is a container skate park in Afganistan. The mega shipping container skate park will be built by an international NGO Skateistan that uses skateboarding as a tool for youth outreach in both Afghanistan and Cambodia. The most recent skate park in Mazar-e-Sharif is an educational safe have for children.The 6000 square meter educational and sport complex was built out of repurposed shipping containers and other locally sourced materials to host 1,000 local children on a weekly basis.

It is yet unfold whether the skate park grows the future’s Tony Hawks or even enhances Afganistan’s economy but for the well-being and sophistication of local children the shipping container skate park is in a big role.

Shipping containers are a sustainable and durable building material whose use is growing more and more mainstream. What’s more, due to their incredibly high availability, they would otherwise become industrial waste. Therefore, in order to prevent environmental disorder, the use of recycled shipping containers in building, say, homes, hotels, offices, schools, hospitals or recreational facilities, is today’s eco-friendly architectural solution.

Shanghai Metal Corporation is specialized in shipping containers and prefabricated shipping container construction. We also ship our products internationally. Visit our websites for specific details or send us your questions via this form. Check also our social media sites for future updates.

    

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Inhabitat, Skateistan, Inhabitat, JRN.com, M-rad

Continue to chapter 10.

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An Antarctic Prefab Shows the True Potential of Shipping Containers

India’s National Center for Antarctic and Ocean Research is situated in northeast Antarctica. The Bharati Indian Polar Station is built on an 27,000 square feet area out of 134 shipping containers. The research center’s residential quarters shows almost everything that can be built out of shipping containers including an hotel of 24 single and double bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, library, fitness room, offices, a lounge and an operational theater.

There are at least two reasons why the research complex was built by using shipping containers. First, according to the Antarctic Treaty System, all the construction in the Antarctica should not leave any trace to the environment. Shipping containers make it possible to dissassemble and remove the building without causing any environmental impact.

Second, due to shipping containers’ physical properties and their durability, they are an excellent building material for extreme weather conditions. Shipping containers are designed to be shipped even in a rough weather in the world’s seas. Therefore they can even handle the wind gusts of 200 mph and the temperatures of -40 C of the Antarctica.

The shipping container complex was prefabricated in Germany and shipped to Antwerp and Cape Town. In Antarctica the research center was able to be assembled quickly. The facade of the center was designed to forestall the buildups of snow drifts.

Thanks to the German company Bof Architekten, the center can accommodate 47 researchers during summers and 24 during winters. The energy of the center is provided by a Combined Heat and Power Unit (CHP) which is powered by stockpiles of kerosene. There are actually a total of three CHP units on site, so as to ensure that an untimely mechanical failure does not leave the residents in dire straits.

Shipping containers and shipping container architecture are one of Shanghai Metal Corporation‘s largest businesses. Our containers are built to last according to international standards. In order to learn more about our products and services, please visit our websites on containers and container projects. Please also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. Try also scanning our QR code with your smart phone, tablet or phablet.

 

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Gizmag, Bof Architekten, Inhabitat

Shipping Container Swimming Pools!

As the readers of our former articles have seen, shipping containers have others ways of use besides logistics. Containers are not only convenient in student housing, hotel industry, affordable housing and retail, they also work as nice swimming pools.

A traditional swimming pool’s installation costs might be between US$6000 and $50,000 not to mention excavation and decking costs. A shipping container, on the other hand, can be purchased with approximately $2000.  The additional costs consists of making the pool water proof by lining the interior with a water-proof lining or welding and painting the interior. Also, regular pool filters, pumps and fixtures should be fitted to the container as well.

Shipping container pools have attracted crowd in many public events. For instance the fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger introduced a container swimming pool in Berlin’s Bread and Butter fashion trade show in 2011. Also the city of New York has arranged some container pool parties in Manhattan.

Also consumers have engaged into container pools. Including Stefan Beese, An experimental architect who used a 30 cubic cargo container to turn his New Orlean’s backyard into a luxurious swimming zone. What’s more, he only needed about $5,000 to $7,000 to do that. You can read his whole story through this link.

If you are looking for an inexpensive swimming pool solution you might want to consider using a shipping container. Shanghai Metal Corporation has been a reliable provider of shipping containers for years. Our open top containers can become excellent swimming pools. For winter swimmers, we also offer refrigerated containers.

Please also follow us on our social media platforms.

    

Please also check our new mobile application by scanning the QR code below.

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Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Container Houses – The Next Big American Dream

The container housing industry is becoming mainstream as it is now a sub category of affordable housing. Building a home out of shipping containers enables also medium income consumers to hire an architect in a very reasonable price. Thereby, container homes might be the next American dream.

Companies have also noticed the advantages of container housing. For instance Starbucks has already installed its container coffee shops in Seattle and London. Container homes also come with a pretty nice design.

One of the benefits of shipping containers is their modularity. They are made as same sized and designed to be piled up and fit optimally in cargo ships. Containers are like Lego blocks. You can pile them up and thereby even create a multiple floor or a multiple wing mansion.

Shipping containers are also designed to be able to resist rough weather in seas. Thereby they are made of really durable and tough material that ensure the safety of a container home. In addition, the material is really simple to modify. Cutting, reforming and other modifications are done by welding which is a simple and cheap procedure. Building a nice patio with a jacuzzi is suddenly affordable.

Also one great thing about containers is that their are available in all all over the world and their transportation is extremely convenient. Containers are designed to fit in a standard shipping cargo leaving no blank space in the ships. Because of the new mainstream use of containers, their weight-to-value ratio is to increase.

The benefits of container homes have been recognized worldwide. For instance, in Finland, container housing is becoming a great solution for offering affordable student homes. Please read about more the Finns’ solution to student housing in our blog. Also the world’s hotel industry is going wild of containers as new companies offering transportable accomodation solutions emerge. Container hotels is also in a luxury top-end category in the hotel industry. Please read more about luxury container hotels here.

China is a major exporter of shipping containers and Shanghai Metal Corporation is one of the leading businesses in that field. To know more about our container houses, villas, hotels and offices, please visit our website. Also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. You can also download our new mobile application by scanning the QR code below.

#AddingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Smartplanet.com, Ecopressptc.com, Inthralld.com, Homedsgn.com, Buzzfeed.com, Bobvila.com, Australian Council of Trade Unions,  Wikipedia, Prefabfan.com