shipping container architecture – Shanghai Metal Corporation

MINIMALIST HOMES MADE FROM SHIPPING CONTAINERS

Homes made from shipping containers are very trendy right now ! Why exactly ?

Maybe because it is capable of offering more than it’s basic use (normally we use them to transport a large amounts of goods on boats or trains). Therefore shipping containers are multi functional ; not only they serve as object carriers but we can also create stylish homes to your personal needs !

With this idea, check out these 5 houses made of shipping containers which have MINIMALIST DESIGN.

Even though you can find a bunch of other designs we think that minimalist design suits the very basic concept of shipping containers which is to accommodate some goods. Houses basically, also follows this ideal.

1. See that sweet comfortable and portable house ?

This house is the perfect movable house if you seek tranquility. It’s cozy and simple design puts your mind at ease and you can enjoy a relax stay in any spot of your choice !

The interior reminds a Japanese style house ; all wooden, natural and eco-friendly.

2. What about this simple veranda style one ?

If you’re more of a stable person, maybe you would prefer this one. This house gives you the feeling of tranquility with it’s classic and retro design. Having more space allows your mind and your body to relax more easily.

3. What’s the thing about white houses ?

White houses, particularly this white gem, define purity. If you’re in need of cleansing that soul of yours, maybe this container house will do you good.

Elegant, simple and classy, this house is located on a hilltop ; whatever your mood is, the purity that emits this house is magical whether you’re alone or with your loved ones.

4. What about for those who need a view ?

Don’t worry, this special model is built for those who seek not only a comfy home but also a view that will take your breath away. With it’s terrace, you could enjoy the beautiful sun and sky as long as you want to.

This house kinds of have two personality with it’s openness to the outside world but it also provides privacy to it’s owner.

5. Do you see a swimming pool ?

What’s better than a container house is, of course, one with a pool to dip in after a hard day’s work ; this little beauty down here makes everything better with it’s peaceful green surroundings. Once you take a dip in that jade green water, you will feel rejuvenated again.

The house’s design perfectly fits with the natural environment in which it is constructed. So not only you will gain inner peace, you will also merge with mother nature.

So you see, shipping containers are flexible to different uses and environments. These 5 minimalist houses are only a few example of the tons of variety shipping containers can offer to imagine. The adaptability is so vast maybe because their initial use was so simple that it exceeds it’s own purpose.

Based in China, Shanghai Metal Corporation is one of the leading businesses in the metalworking industry. As a major producer and exporter of shipping containers and other metal products and service, we essentially put our customer’s personal needs above all like these 5 container houses.

To know more about our company 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

Maria // SMC Editor

Why Containers work best as Apartments

Shipping container architecture has seen increased popularity over the years. This is largely due to the fact that containers are a much cheaper building system, as compared to conventional ways of building, and they are simple building inputs.

(image via http://www.containerhome.info)

Here are a few reasons why you need to build apartments with containers:

1. It takes far less time to transform a container into a living space! All it takes to have it from being the cargo carrier to being your comfortable home is, changing the floor, insulating the walls, and adding fixtures and windows. At SMC, we have specially made, pre-fabricated container houses which are fitted with plumbing, electricity and fixtures.

2. It takes less time to have the structure ready for people to live in, as opposed to building with bricks which are stacked one by one, a container is already a sturdy structure, thus, time taken to build from scratch is saved.

3. Containers used as apartments save a lot of land, as they can be easily stacked up to make an array of apartments. They are a perfect solution for housing in busy, overcrowded big cities and metropolis as they serve well to solve the problem of student housing and bachelor housing.

(image via http://www.tinyhouselover.com)

4.Container apartments help tenants to enjoy affordable rent! This is tangible reality can be seen here where container apartments were built up in London strategically for young people to be able to live comfortably and be can afford to pay rent. Since containers are a cheap input, hence the cheap rent!

5. Containers have high strength in their own structure, therefore it makes building with them very simple and more stronger buildings result. The high structural strength also enables homes to built in otherwise difficult-to-build areas such as wilderness homes and other adventurous types of homes.

So, why not reduce costs spent on building, while you save on construction time with container apartments? Visit our website to get more information about our container range, we are a leading manufacturer and supplier of containers in China.

Contact us for an inquiry or further assistance. Stay clued up on our latest news and info by scanning the QR code below, or follow us on these social media:

Lebo Seopane//SMC Editor

Credits: Google images, SMC website,www.inhabitat.com

Container Success

Container architecture is becoming more and more popular by the day,as more people are intrigued by the unique design and appearance of container homes, apartments, offices and other living spaces.

At SMC we offer best quality shipping containers of international standard. Containers, as one of our best selling products, have seen increasing demand and popularity as they are convenient to use as a building system, easy to set up, and can even be cost effective, when compared with conventional building systems. Shipping container uses go as far as one’s imagination and creativity can go. They can be used as tuck shops, convenient office space,basement or bunker, garages and other spaces.

We offer containers in different sizes and variations, therefore there is a container suitable for all your needs. These variations range from the standard container, reefer containers, open-top container, open-side container as well as other special feature containers such as the flat rack container, platform container etc.

Our containers are manufactured in a way that quality and maximum strength are ensured, with rust protection, wind and water proof guaranteed.

Stay up to date with our latest updates by scanning the QR code below to download our latest application; or follow us on these social media sites:

Lebo Seopane// SMC Editor

Credits: SMC website, Google images

Move right along!

Are you moving houses as the new year begins? Wondering how you will move all that furniture? Well, at SMC we know just how to make sure household furniture and other home equipment is moved safely to your new dwelling place. Our 20 feet open-sided container and open-top containers are just right for being used to load stuff onto when one is transporting goods. This can be domestically when the container is loaded onto a truck to move on land; and is also handy for transporting bulky material like furniture which is bought overseas. It’s full access doors make it highly convenient to load goods, thus making it highly desirable as it can save time during loading and offloading.

As the leading supplier of metal products in China, we offer containers in many variations to suit your needs. The 20 feet open-sided containers highly convenient for transport . This container has full size access doors which can open as wide as 270 degrees; and also allows for easy loading with a forklift truck.

These open sided containers are also handy for transport of goods such as fresh produce, which need constant ventilation.

Ensure that your goods are transported safely, contact us for inquiry about this type of container.

Scan the QR code below to download our latest app:

Stay on track about our latest information and newest products, Follow us on these social media platforms:

Lebo Seopane//SMC Editor

Build your own safe haven!

At SMC, we not only recommend our shipping containers to be used for shipping, but we also have some other innovative ways to use them to share with you. We manufacture shipping containers of different dimensions, and different functionality, which can serve your specific needs accordingly. All our containers are characterized by durability, relatively inexpensive price, and sustainability.

If you are looking to build an underground shelter or basement to make into a safe haven for your family, for example in times of hurricanes and other natural disasters, containers are a good resource to build this shelter. They are easy-to-set up, highly durable, and can be fixed onto a foundation made from cement, bricks or even wood. This is merely just to ensure that the shelter is anchored well to the ground, and more secure.

Make yourself a comfortable underground bunker using our containers!

The idea of making a shelter out of containers also comes handy for military bases, which may be in remote areas where it isn’t so easy to build with conventional building materials; and can sometimes be of great use when making a secret hideout place for soldiers at war for instance. We have a variation of prefabricated containers which ensure great durability and are more sustainable for containers used as shelter of a dwelling place in nature.

Our containers also come handy as affordable, easy to set up structures. In developing countries’ remote areas, where there may not be enough resources to build a hospital for instance, our containers can be used as a mobile clinic as it is can easily loaded onto the back of a truck and driven to the place of need.

To make the perfect shelter for your needs, visit our website for more information about our various containers and other products. Contact us for free inquiry.

Get our latest news and updates by downloading the QR code below; follow us on the following social media platforms:

Lebogang Seopane// SMC Intern

Credits: Google images, SMC website

Looks Prettier than It Costs!

Are you tired of high water bills? Think it’s too much effort maintaining your gardens and football pitch? Well, at SMC, we have the solution to your gardening problems!

Artificial lawn is becoming more and more popular by the day, as it is ever-green all year round, requires little maintenance, has easy installation, and creates a breath-taking scenery, and most of all saves you from high water bills!

At SMC, our building systems subsection is concerned about all your building needs. Enhance the look of your gardens and sports arena with our artificial grass! While you are at it, take it up a notch and incorporate our shipping containers which you can recycle to create extra living space with an open patio setting. Recycled containers used in design and decor, are a great architectural success to creating contemporary gardens! They allow you to create your own lush and unique garden, at minimal cost. SAY BYE-BYE TO WATER BILLS and HELLO to beautiful lush gardens all year round! NO lawn mowing, no pruning, no watering! You save a lot!

SMC is a professional artificial grass manufacturer and is one of the leading building systems supplier in China. Having a world-wide market, we produce world-class artificial grass from synthetic turf; which is widely used in home gardens, golf landscape, and sports arena.

Moreover, our artificial grass is also safe for children to play on, hence it’s perfect for school play grounds.

Enjoy beautiful views in your homes and sports arena with our artificial grass, with no fuss of high maintenance. At SMC, we understand the problem of water scarcity; so come to SMC to save water and pay less money for your water bills and garden maintenance personnel. All that cost forgone is accompanied by breath-taking landscape architecture!

Read more about how best we can meet your building system needs by visiting our website or make an inquiry.

Get our latest updates, follow us on the following social media platforms

or scan the QR code to download our new application

Lebogang Seopane//SMC Intern

Sources: Google images, SMC website

Container Homes – The Illegal Saviors of Economies And the Environment

The ports of many import-driven countries including the USA are filled with used shipping containers that are never shipped back to their original destinations. Therefore considering the well-being of the environment, getting new ways of use for them is crucial. Building affordable homes for many families is the best option, but how to influence the local decision makers to offer building permits.

The valuable resources of used shipping containers will remain as an unused asset if the decision makers do not allow the installation of shipping container houses. The roots of the problem are not on the operational level, in other words, in the daily application and inspection processes. In many countries there are protocols on how large, what colour or which material the houses in a specific suburb should be made of. The problem is that the standards do not say much about special building materials, let alone shipping containers.

The inspectors can only follow the protocol, that’s a fact. Therefore people should work on influencing the upper level authorities, unions and city councils.

Social media offers great tools for that. It is important that people keep on writing blogs about the benefits of shipping container architecture. It is also equally important to share other people’s work on social media. The optimum use of Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, WordPress etc. enables the maximum reach of one’s work. Maximum reach implies that the content will eventually reach the decision makers or the people who influence them. Moreover, as we already analyzed in our former article, this industry develops really slowly, so all the counter measures should be designed for a long run.

Besides quality, quantity also counts. The decision makers also suffer from bounded rationality. Instead of only few experts, by social media they can be influences of thousands of experts, those who want to build affordable homes and to help to save the environment and the economy. Even though it sounds like a long shot but it’s still an implementable way.

Shanghai Metal Corporation also contributes to this good cause by creating content related to container architecture and sharing others’ work. SMC is a pioneer in providing shipping containers and container buildings for many countries. You can also join our social media communities.

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and more reading in: Containerist, Biz Journals, Wikipedia, Baidu Image, Baco Enterprises

Google – The New Creator of Container Architects

Building a container residence can be nice DIY project, especially for those who take building as a hobby or a way to relax. Still, one needs to keep in mind that building container houses is a long procedure and requires extremely professional attitude. Due to many challenges, container house projects might escalate into failures. Thereby it is a worthy option to get a professional manufacturer to build it for you. There used to be a huge challenge in that option as well.

In order to manufacture container houses, the provider need the houses’ drawings. Building a house without blueprints is impossible. The manufacturers are also unable to determine the price without really specific details about one’s dream house. Most of us lack the architectural skills for that. Luckily, today all you need is a sketch made with Google Sketchup software.

Try googling container houses designed with Google Sketchup and you’ll find many results. By sending your sketch to a provider, you’ll safe a lot of time in negotiating and explaining your vision. Sketchup is a tool for you to translate the idea of your dream house to an architectural language that the manufacturers understand.

The prices of container houses can vary a lot. The prices are dependent of the number of floors, the amount of plumbing and electricity installations to name but a few. Use your sketches to inquire the prices. That’s how manufacturers can help you.

Container houses are advantageous related to conventional buildings in the sense that they can be built elsewhere than their final destination. For instance Shanghai Metal Corporation custom-manufactures numerous container houses every year and ships them worldwide. You can submit your inquiries and sketches in our Facebook page by sending a message. Check also our other social media platforms for future updates. See our container house service description here.

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Eric Wichman’s blog, Victor Fernandez, Tin Can Cabin, Mister Swift, Land8, Google Sketchup

Container Houses – Hobbits in the Mordor of Architecture

Why do people want to build their homes out of shipping containers? Because of the benefits one can gain from containers and the promises related to successful shipping container architecture. Container houses indeed have many benefits that are superior compared to more conventional construction material. Still, there are numerous examples of how container house projects fail. Failure and challenges make some people question containers’ position as a reliable building material. Here we want to discuss some of that criticism.

Modularity, eco-friendliness and excellent availability are indeed some of the many benefits of shipping containers. The ports of many import driven countries including the US have hundreds of thousands of containers that are never shipped back to their original destination. Therefore it is logical and environmentally friendly to find ways to reuse these building blocks. However like any building material, containers also need to be processed.

Shipping containers should not be used in the condition that they are when first found in the docks. They have taken hits and transported goods with unknown origin. They might have shipped contaminants and they floors might be in bad condition. Refurbishing the containers thoroughly is as important as with any construction material.

Because of the numerous operations including flooring, plumbing, drywall etc., container house projects might become as expensive as ordinary building projects. Thereby it is an recommended option to buy prefabricated container homes from a reliable provider. For instance Shanghai Metal Corporation manufactures and ships numerous prefabricated homes each year to many countries.

Sometimes container homes get excessive critics. Some people say container homes are not suitable for areas that are either really cold or really hot. This is not true. There is even a huge inhabitable container house complex in Antarctica! In hot conditions the container houses can be built to direct the flow of air inside creating a natural ventilation and thus saving costs. Such examples include the container ship terminal in Seville and this container house created by Chinese university students.

Some people say container houses are not bullet proof. It’s true that the light steel walls won’t stop a .38 Magnum but it will stop dynamite. That’s something, say, a wood house can’t do. Moreover container houses are hurricane and earthquake resistant. Isn’t that more important?

The thing is that the shipping container architecture industry is really young and under development. In his book, Why A Students Work for C Students And Why C Students Work for the Government, a successful entrepreneur and author Robert Kiyosaki mentions that the construction industry is the slowest industry in adapting new concepts. He says that the time gap between when a new idea is proposed and its adoption is 60 years in the construction industry.

People have built wood houses for ages, and learned from their mistakes. That’s why wood houses don’t have that much criticism anymore. The container house patent was filed in 1987. Therefore the expected time for flawless container architecture should be around the year 2047. Container housing needs just more time to develop – from hobbits to heroes. Luckily, the signs refer to faster development than 60 years.

As in any construction industry it is important to do the right things. It is also important to do the things right. That’s what Shanghai Metal Corporation does by specializing in building container houses according to customers’ specification. A sketch of your dream house drawn with Google’s Sketch Up is what we need hear to realize your dreams. You may contact us first by this form. See our service description through this link. Check also our social media sites for future updates.

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and more reading: Wikipedia, Survivopedia, Homedit, Apartment Therapy, Container Alliance, Arch Daily, Jets on Green, Tin Can Cabin, Baidu Image

Container Houses – Affordable Homes And A Lot More

As we all know, building a home out of shipping containers is cheaper and faster than conventionally built homes with same dimensions. Buying a prefabricated container home makes it even easier for average consumer since the majority of the construction is made off-site. Container homes are definitely becoming the mainstream of affordable housing, but since almost anything can be built out of these steel Lego blocks, why should one settle only for getting a living space?

The simplest container living space can of course be done by using a one single container. There are numerous examples of these container micro homes that are also presented in our articles. People wanting to build larger homes use to spend more money by hiring an architect agency to make them do the drawings for a container house manufacturer. Today thanks to Google, we can avoid those service costs by using Google’s Sketch Up program to make them ourselves. That money can be spent perhaps for a container garage, sauna or even a swimming pool.

Container swimming pool could be a nice DIY project. Stefan Beese, An experimental architect set us an example by turning his New Orlean’s backyard into a luxurious swimming zone. He used a 30 cubic shipping container, added some pumps, filters, linings and did all the necessary operations. He only used about $5,000 to $7,000 to do that. You can read his whole story through this link.

Saunas are a necessities in some countries. For example in Nordic countries a saunaless house will most likely not get sold. For now the container sauna market is not that large and there are only a few suppliers of prefabricated container sauna manufacturers. One of them is Canadian Castor whose 8 ft sauna containers have a really high-end price tag of $ 41,000.

Luckily shipping container houses are modular and flexible in every way. They can be shipped and built in relatively short time frames. They can also be easily adjoined to existing buildings. Therefore for consumers it could be a reasonable option to buy a custom manufactured container house and save pools, saunas etc. later as DIY projects.

In Shanghai Metal Corporation we custom-manufacture container houses according to customers’ requirements. We also offer various indoor kits that you can see on our web page. We also sell various kinds of shipping containers worldwide. If you have questions related product categories, you can send your questions through this form. We are also active on these social media platforms. Follow us to get future updates.

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Gizmag, Nola, my-container.co.uk, Inhabitat, Viralnova