In volume one, we discussed homes, hotels, and retail outlets and their benefits. They are only a fraction of what you can do with shipping containers. The volume two will be about container facilities for relaxation and discuss swimming pools, saunas, and bathhouses.
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 swimming pool is a nice DIY project. For example Stefan Beese, an experimental architect 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.
Shipping containers can be now used as saunas. A Canadian design studio Castor has designed the first container sauna.
The 8 ft container is a fully-operational sauna box that uses wood for heating and solar energy for lighting. The mobile sauna also comes with an integrated iPod stereo and an electric guitar hook-up. Also additional creature comforts such as a magnetic truck light, castor stool, and bronze antlers are included.
A company named SOAK has an eco-friendly container bathhouse project. This container complex will be able gain 100% of its power from solar energy. The bathhouse also gets a substantial of its water from nature by harvesting and filtering rainwater. They will also reuse the greywater by directing it to their patio’s garden meadow.
The company wanted to shipping containers because they are inexpensive to occupy, easy to move and quick to retrofit. Shipping containers also offer a durable and good-looking aesthetics that will support their vision. SOAK’s goal is to build a bathhouse for “healthy hedonists” that want make an effort to be healthy but do not want to be dogmatic or ideological about it. What’s more they want make their business sociable and sustainable.
Shipping containers combined supporting construction material is all one needs to build their pools, saunas or even bathhouses. We in Shanghai Metal Corporation sell them both. Please visit our websites on containers and construction material for detailed descriptions. Check also our social media platforms.
Tuomas P. // SMC Editor
Sources: See our articles on container swimming pools, saunas, and bathhouses.
Continue to chapter 3
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