South Korea – Shanghai Metal Corporation

Container Observatory – The Best Place for First Date!

Shipping containers can be converted into various kinds of buildings ranging from homes to hotels. They can also be fit into their surrounding environment. A sunset observatory in South Korea’s Incheon makes a good example.

A Korean company named AnL Studio, has created “Ocean Scope”, an observatory for enjoying the sunset and admiring the horizon in a romantic setting. The structure is built on five shipping containers that are placed on different heights. The containers are also placed on 10, 30, 50 degree angles offering visitors different points-of-view. The containers are equipped with staircases.

In South Korea, many shipping containers are used as temporary shelters in rural areas. The containers do their purpose as shelters but still, they are not harmonized with the surrounding nature. Ocean Scope is one of those examples that show how container architecture can build a dialogue with nature.

Fitting container buildings into their surroundings is a relatively easy task. Due to their simple steel structure, container houses are mainly modified by cutting and welding that are not really labour-intensive operations. Incheon’s observatory’s stair design and the positioning of containers show what can be done with welding and cutting.

Shipping containers are designed to hold heavy weight only on their four corner pillars so excess weight on them might be very damaging. Therefore, roofing is always a challenge with container buildings. Our article on containers shelters describes one roofing solution, but the observatory shows how it can be done more conveniently. The containers are put on different angles allowing rainwater and snow pour down from them. How smart!

Shipping containers are a durable material and today’s main component for affordable and sustainable architecture. We in Shanghai Metal Corporation sell this super construction material internationally. To learn more about our containers, please visit our website. Possible inquiries can be submitted through this link. Please visit our social media sites.

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Inhabitat, Dezeen

Buildings Inspired by Star Wars

As the release date of the new Star Wars episode VII movie comes closer and closer, even the true fans do not have to travel galaxies far far away to witness some beautiful pieces of architecture that have been inspired by the Star Wars saga.

The first destination where the Millenium Falcon takes us is the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, where a company named Heerim Architects are designing a hotel that seems to be straight from the Star Wars world. The 150-meter high and 35-story Full Moon hotel that is shaped as the Death Star will be able to accommodate guests to 382 large rooms.

The next building imitating Star Wars is in South Korea where Moon Hoon Architects company has implemented the “Star Wars house” whose overall aesthetics and façade articulation references the Star Wars series. According to an article on Designboom, the overall interior and exterior design of the house with inclined walls serves well the Korean trend of young families moving to detached homes. The surroundings of the house also offer an open play area for children and also responds to residents’ childhood dreams of becoming astronauts or Jedis.

8,700 feet above sea level in the Swiss Alps, there is a restaurant that looks like the buildings of the planet Hoth. The building is actually a prefabricated restaurant designed by a Swiss architecture firm Tilla Theus. The Neubau Gipfelrestaurant is modeled in accordance with the mountains shapes bringing a natural touch to the environment.

Construction projects take time and need to be fit according to their surroundings. In Shanghai Metal Corporation we have a long experience in executing major building projects. To learn more about our variety of services, please visit our website. Please also follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

#BuildingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Tilla Theus, Inhabitat, Moon Hoon, Designboom, Heerim Architects, Inhabitat

Better Education Obtained in Container Schools

Today shipping containers are used to build apartments, hotels, stores and saunas to name but a few. But why does it make sense to build schools out of containers?

The first reason is that especially old wooden school buildings are likely to have mold issues that may cause severe health risks. For example an article of a Finnish science magazine Tiede states that every second school in Finland has mold issues (source). Students are therefore either forced to stay in their mold school or move to another school. Container schools could be installed in relatively short time and with relatively low costs.

The second reason can be studied from Samsung. In 2012, the South Korean electronics chaebol established a shipping container school in the South African village of Phomolong as a part of its corporate-social responsibility program. The school offers its 21 students premium education facilities with solar powered electricity system and notebooks, an Internet connection and Samsung Galaxy tablets. (source)

In Orange County California, creative architects had an over three months projects of expanding the Waldorf School in Costa Mesa by using shipping containers. It took 99 days to build four buildings out of 32 shipping containers. The eco-friendly construction project cost two million US dollars which was estimated of being 10-20 percent cheaper than an “old-school” building project. Also it would have most likely taken more time than 99 days to finish by using other material than shipping containers.

There are many types of internationally standardized shipping containers. Some have an open top and some can be opened from the sides. Thereby it gives designers limitless opportunities to develop mobile education facilities. In order to solve mold related problems or take education to less developed areas, governments, nonprofit organizations and companies’ CSR managers should look for containerized education solutions.

Shanghai Metal Corporation is a proud provider of shipping containers. Our wide variety of container products can be seen in our website http://www.smccontainer.com. We hope that you also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. You can also try our new mobile application by scanning the QR code below.

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Tiede magazine, Cnet, The Volt Report, Arch Daily, Wintech Modular Buildings, Lion Containers, Design Boom

Top 10 Countries For Internet Speed

If you thought it was South Korea , you were mistaken. South Korea’s speed is down 13% last year and has been surpassed by Hong Kong. Hong Kong benefits from its top rate infrastructure and money from the world over. Internet speeds averaged 9.3 Mbps last year, up 5.4% from a year ago. This compares to average mainland China internet speeds of just 1.7 Mbps.

Next on the list as you can see are the usual suspects, Singapore and Northern European countries though Macau has made the cut this year with 40 mbps according to netindex.

These innovations in internet speeds can largely be accredited to the commercialization of fibre optics. About 20 years ago, companies which provide telecommunications services, particularly Internet providers, realized the immense potential of fiber optic cables. These foresighted companies began installing fiber optic cables everywhere, and for a long time the cost of these services was too high for the average consumer. However, as these companies recoup their massive installation costs as more customers sign up for service, the costs are now affordable even for small businesses and home users. Here’s how fiber optics are changing the Web, and indeed, the world.

The differences in fiber optic Internet services, as opposed to the older copper wire technology used by dial-up Internet services, are significant. First, users never have to worry about a poor quality connection causing loss of service. Second, fiber optics eliminate the lengthy wait times for Web pages to load, messages to be transmitted, or images to upload. Fiber optics are ideal for an interconnected world such as ours, because it allows for real-time experiences on social media sites, such as Facebook, YouTube, Limewire, Skype, and other sites heavy on audio and video.

It also has practical and useful business applications. Shanghai Metal manufactures the stainless steel strip used for optical fiber cable protection tubes. To find out more, please visit our website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Or you could try our new mobile app by scanning our QR code.

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

Drunk Man Found In Container Bound For The USA

Containers – The New Political Soapbox

Move Along Airplanes – Submarines Overtake Travel

Thor’s Hammer: The Science

Shipping Container City – Shanghai Immigrant’s Homes

Can You Do A 360 Degree Loop On A Swing Set?

Become Bullet Proof …Using Water

Counterfeit Money Cases

LEGO Lands On British Shores

Innovative Uses of Soap

Air Quality – What Can Be Done?

Team Building Exercises – A New Spin

How Much Petrol Costs Internationally

The Antarctican Training Programme – Could You Make It?

What Is The Mirror Paradox?

Do Oil Discoveries Cause Conflict?

Should We All Switch To Cycling?

Where Did ‘Loom Bands’ Come From?

Are You Apocalypse Ready?

Could You Abseil Down Big Ben?

Building Your Dream Kitchen

How A Tiny Anchor Can Hold A Whole Ship

Did You Know There Are 14 Kinds Of Spoon?

How To Make A Statement At Business Networking Events

How Do Telephones Actually Work?

The World’s Biggest Mobile Fridge Sailed in Paris

The Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre Dame, Versailles, Moulin Rouge, those are the places to visit in Paris. In 2009, the city of love also became famous of a creative marketing campaign.

The Korean electronics company LG set up a creative marketing campaign for their ecological fridge. The company, one of South Korea’s largest chaebols, turned a 70 meter container ship into the world’s biggest fridge that sailed up the Seine from Le Havre to Paris between June 22 and June 25. The vessel transported cooking ingredients that the famous 3-star Michelin chef Alain Passard cooked for visiting journalists.

LG’s ecological fridge uses a patented “Linear Compressor” technology that is to lower energy consumption up to 20 percent compared to other conventional fridges. The new fridge technology has also received an A+ rating from the EU.

Refrigerated containers, or reefer containers, are mainly used for shipping temperature sensitive products even with extremely long distances. Reefer container technology enabled for instance the shipping of Camel Milk from the United Arab Emirates to Europe. Please, read the whole story here.

As businesses are getting more aware of the benefits of refrigerated containers, new uses for them are emerging. Reefer containers are basically tools that combine mobility and cold chain. One can set up a temperature sensitive business and still vary its location. For example, Atlanta’s Botanical Garden used a refrigerated container to set up a mobile bio-secure research laboratory for their research on frogs in 2011. Reefer containers are also convenient in, say, open-air events where organizers need to keep their heavy loads of Red Bulls and Coca-Colas chilled all the time.

Like LG, Shanghai Metal Corporation‘s reefer containers also use environmentally friendly and energy efficient technology that generate a really low CO2 footprint. We also apply high standards in their quality assurance. To learn more about our refrigerated containers, please visit our website. Please also follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original stories: Container Technology Inc., SlipperyBrick.com, Gcaptain.com, Btwins.net, Stickboydaily.com,

Steel: A Key Driver of The World’s Economy

As the world economy is constantly evolving, our demand for material goods increases along the way. Steel, the recycled material is one of the top products in the manufacturing sector of the world. It is a leading supplier in industries such as automotive, construction, transport, power and machine goods.

The steel industry is a booming industry due to the increasing demand of development projects around the world. The increasing need of steel in developing countries for its infrastructural projects and real estate projects has pushed the companies in this industry near their operative capacity, thus creating strong financial condition in the last decade.

The main demand of steel industries comes from the construction industry. With developmental works on the rise in both developed and developing countries, the rise of housing and construction sector is the largest consumer of steel today, using around 50% of world steel production.

The automotive industry is quickly rising as a potential demand for steel industries because the use of steel in vehicles cause the weight of the same to lesson by almost twenty five percent of the material. On the technological front, steel is making a rapid improvement with the implementation of cutting-edge technologies. As we see economies grow around the world, we also see that steel is a key driver of the world’s economy. Click here to visit Shanghai Metal Corporation’s website.

Steel industry in the global market:

Asian countries have dominated the production of steel in the last twenty years.
India is also among the one of the fastest growing economies in the world and has been considered to be a potential global steel hub.
India, Brazil, South Korea, and Turkey are poised for future production growth and all have entered the top ten producers list in the past 40 years.