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.

 

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Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Gizmag, Bof Architekten, Inhabitat

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Reefer Containers – The Best Tool for Shipping Penguins!

People are shipping some strange things these days. A British news service Metro lists 10 weirdest items that people have ever shipped. The list includes a dead cat, a live hamster and a hot shepherd’s pie. The Denizen magazine writes about a person who shipped Heinz ketchup from the United States to Singapore. FedEx has also gathered a list of the weirdest items they have ever shipped. Some items are temperature sensitive a therefore require a refrigerated shipping container. What could be a good example of such an item? Well, penguins!

The FedEx Corporation actually shipped nineteen African blackfoot penguins that were saved from the Hurricane Katrina in 2006. The penguins traveled with two sea otters in airfreight back to New Orleans from California where they spent their eight-month refuge. The chartered flight of US$100, 000 was donated by FedEx and the penguins had a nice reception with a purple mat waiting them at the airport.

Unlike African penguins, antarctic penguins live in very extreme conditions and can survive a cold breezy weather. For example Emperor Penguins are one of the most warm-blooded animals on the planet enabling them to breed even in low temperatures of -30°C (-22°F) and while putting up with winds of 200 kmh (125mph) and more. The emperor penguins can maintain a 38°C degree body temperature mostly by huddling with other penguin buddies in a flock.

Besides an international shipping permission, shipping temperature sensitive items such as penguins, otters or camel milk, one needs a refrigerated shipping container. Shanghai Metal Corporation has a long experience in supplying high-quality reefer containers. In Shanghai Metal we only sell environmentally friendly reefer containers that have a low Co2 footprint. Our containers can maintain a temperature of -35°C at the lowest. More information about our refrigerated containers can be found in our website. Also feel free to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. You can also try our new mobile application by scanning the QR code below.

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: sucai.dabaoku.com, image.baidu.com, coolantarctica.com, metro.co.uk, denizenmag.com, fedex.com, USA Today