The Many Architectural Applications of Shipping Containers vol.8

An interesting phenomenon related to shipping container architecture is that it has also pushed the development of other technology. One these technologies is water recycling and power generation technologies that have already been applied in container greenhouses.

Companies such as Freight Farms and PodPonics have introduced a new business model that converts second hand shipping containers into high-quality greenhouses that can be relocated almost everywhere. The technology associated with the business ensures a safe plantation of fruits, herbs and vegetables.

Damien Chivialle‘s model of urban farm units (UFU) has a system that uses live fishes and to to fertilize and recycle the farms water. Every container has a fish tank whose water flows in a closed circuit. The fish feces are broke into pieces that are utilized as fertilizers. The system also produces some methane for the farms secondary energy source. (source)

One major advantage of container farms is that now farms can be located closer to the places where the food will be eaten. Thereby, say, restaurants can minimize their shipping costs and still offer their customers fresh and high quality food. What’s more the greens are produced without any chemicals cutting the amount of pesticides to zero.

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft has also contributed to container related power producing technology. His competition for designing toilets for developing countries has produced many ideas including Duke University’s innovation. The creative solution sanitizes human waste and creates electricity as a by-product. You can read more about it in our former article.

If you are looking for containers to start or expand your business, we in Shanghai Metal Corporation can offer them. We have many kinds of containers with different door solutions. You can check our website for further details or send us a message through this form. Check also our social media platforms for new updates.

    

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and Original articles: Singularityhub, Designboom, Forbes, Overgrow the System, Pando Daily, Motionpictures blog

Continue to chapter 9.

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The Eden Project: Bringing The Ancient Copper Back To Life

Copper is known to be a major metal and an essential element used all around the globe. It is the oldest metal known to man and was first discovered and used about 10,000 years ago, however it was only alloyed in bronze circa 3000 BC, making it the first engineering material known to man. 

The first facts about copper relates to the pyramids of Cheops, located in Egypt. Archeologists have found water pipes partly made from copper. Piping network has been used in Egypt for more than 5000 years. Therefore, copper was believed as the symbol of the eternal life. In the hieroglyph system, the ancient Egyptian people utilized the ankh symbol to represent copper.

Nowadays, copper is not only restricted to piping work, but it has expanded to include heating, cooling and refrigeration, electrical wiring, electronics, power generation and transmission, automotive applications, antimicrobial uses and many more. Moreover, copper can still be considered a symbol of eternal life for the Egyptians; however it can also be considered a sustainable material; when taking in consideration the processes of extraction, production and retail.

Therefore, The Eden Project based in Cornwall, England is one of the most innovative and high profile of the Millennium Projects. It is the largest plant enclosure in the world built in the lightest and most ecological way possible. Eden’s aim was to build the Core (education center) with the highest sustainable specifications, challenging the conventions for sustainable design and construction, with targets above the national benchmarks and using carefully selected materials. The team considered the complex interaction between a range of criteria of sustainable issues, specifically waste neutrality, positive futures, recycled content, certification of materials and local sourcing implications.

The key criteria affecting the choice of roofing material were:

• to make a bold architectural statement to complement Eden’s ground-breaking architecture and landscapes;

• to be durable, strong and relatively lightweight;

• to be malleable enough to cope with the complex structure of the roof;

• to have excellent sustainability credentials, and

• most importantly for a building dedicated to education at Eden, the roof should highlight a progressive message relating to sustainable development issues.

While copper can be relatively expensive for a roof and is in strong competition with other roofing materials, it is robust, even when turned into sheets, malleable, completely waterproof and very long lasting: physical properties that made it ideal for the roof’s complex design. Aesthetically too, copper is the only common metal; other than gold,  that isn’t grey or silver, making it one of the most easily recognized metals, thus aiding engagement with visitors as a first step to relating the sustainability message.

As an international manufacturer and supplier for copper sheet and bronze sheet, Shanghai Metal Corporation produces slitting, edging, and oscillates winding to fit your specific copper requirements. For more information on our copper products please visit our website here. Be sure to join the conversation in our Linkedln group, Facebook and Instagram.

You can also read more articles by our team at SMC:

Who To Blame (Or Thank) For Your Braces

3 Most Creative Statues

How To Do A Better Job Than Jack

Sources: The Eden project

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

William P.//SMC Editor