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 Shipping Container Housing
Emergency disaster housing, temporary housing or using shipping containers as permanent housing
- Guide to Shipping Container Housing Designs, Uses, Sources, Inspection & Maintenance -
Temporary or emergency / disaster housing using shipping containers or other designs
- CONTAINER HOUSING
- KIT HOMES, Aladdin, Sears, Wards, Others - separate article
- MOBILE HOMES, DOUBLEWIDES, TRAILERS - separate article
- MODULAR HOME CONSTRUCTION - separate article
- PANELIZED CONSTRUCTION - separate article
- Questions & Answers about shipping container housing designs, uses, where to buy shipping containers for conversion to a house, how to convert a shipping container to housing, shipping container house inspection & maintenance
- References
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Shipping container & similar pre-fab housing: this article describes the use of shipping containers & similar structures as a base for design & provision of emergency or disaster housing, temporary structures, or even permanent homes that can be transported, erected, even stacked on-site where housing is needed in both urban and more remote areas. We include examples of container based housing designs and we list the factors that should be considered in both cost analysis for container based housing and in project set-up & maintenance. We provide sources for renting or buying shipping containers new or used for housing or storage or office projects, and we list expert resources, books & documents on container housing architecture & design. Page top photo is an example of creative design thinking applied to round and other shaped-containers, in this instance, from Private Passage, a New York City sculpture by Malcolm Cochran.
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Guide to Shipping Container Housing Designs, Uses, Sources, Inspection & Maintenance
Following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and further-developing a disaster housing plan that New York City has been working on since 2007, FEMA and New York City officials began plans for a project to test disaster housing units, including designs such as using shipping containers that could be stackable to provide higher density housing in urban areas where otherwise space may be limited. The city will construct a prototype disaster housing set-up testing stacked or multi-story units on a parking lot near the Brooklyn Bridge. [1]
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Examples of Shipping Container & Similar Modular Housing Designs
This office built using a shipping container is an example provided by Wikipedia.
Standard shipping container sizes vary by country, age, and intended use. Construction material is usually steel (typically COR-ten steel) though there are also (more expensive) aluminum shipping containers. Generally in the U.S. shipping containers are available in these dimensions: [2]
- Shipping container Length: 20-ft (6.1 m), 40-ft (12.2 m), 45-ft (13.7 m), 48-ft (14.6 m), and 53-ft (16.2 m)
- Shipping container Width: 8 ft.
- Shipping container Height: 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m)
- Shipping container Weight: typically from 2000 to 3000 kg & up for steel shipping containers
Synonyms for shipping container in shipping use include ISO container, Cargon Container, Conex Box. When used for occupancy or storage, these containers are referred to as Intermodal Steel Building Unit (ISBU) or a GreenCube. [9] |
Container-based Disaster Housing Conversion, Transportation & Installation Costs & Considerations
A number of factors combine to determine the suitability of converted shipping containers as temporary disaster housing or for longer term applications, including:
- Availability of suitable shipping containers of the proper size and in usable condition
- Transportation costs for the shipping container to the location where it is to be modified / adapted
- Total costs for modifications to the shipping container, which of course vary by requirements such as heating & cooling needs. The New York Times reported that the estimated cost to convert each 40-ft long shipping container into a movable and perhaps stackable house would range between $50,000. & $80,000. U.S.[1] Adaptation cost may involve extra insulation & cooling where containers are to be used in climates of more extreme cold or hot temperatures. [9]
- Transportation costs for the container housing to be shipped to its point of use
- Installation costs for shipping container based disaster housing, including
- Site work preparation (foundation space level, provision of ground support plates, site properly drained, access roads or walks) including possible site preparation to permit access to the site by container transportation & lifting or placement equipment (crane or fork lift).
- Safe access stairs & railings, and housing-modified container unit placement, with additional placement costs and access stair costs for stacked units
- Connections between the container housing and utilities for electricity (including electrical grounding), water supply, wastewater disposal; if needed, provision for onsite heating fuel (heating oil, LP gas, natural gas connections). For some installations there may be both installation time reductions & economies of installation if bathing & toilet facilities can be provided by a number of specialized container units designed for that purpose and shared among housing users. For example SeaBox provides an expandable 10' x 8' stackable shower unit that can be set up in just 20 minutes. [8]
- Larger dimensioned housing containers may be more costly to transport and stack.
- For longer term occupancy, additional provisions for design, space, stimulii, or other features may be needed to assure that a particular shipping container-based housing installation minimizes issues with privacy, crowding, and related concerns explored by Hall (1976) and others [14] listed by Brandt (2011) who has compiled a thoughtful analysis of the requirements for a successful longer-term housing facility based on containers. [9]
- Manufacturers warn of life threatening risks to personnel during lifting & installation of shipping container units & their connection to mechanical & electrical services; in the urgency of a disaster-related event expert supervision may be needed to reduce the risk of hazards to inexperienced personnel
- Maintenance costs for shipping-container based housing or disaster shelters include
- Inspection of leveling jacks & adjustment as needed
- Inspection of electrical & other mechanical systems for safety
- HVAC maintenance & repair
- Plumbing system maintenance & repair
- Inspection for abnormal interior conditions of moisture, mold contamination, leaks
Tanks & Other Round Structures as a Base for Experimental Design Housing - the Bottle House
Our photo of a bottle structure as home (left), Private Passage, a sculpture by Malcolm Cochran, illustrates the wide range of experiment and creativity that has attracted architects and other designers to the adaptation of containers, especially shipping containers, but even a wine bottle as ready-made structures that can be converted into a home.
Properly titled Private Passage, this bottle house was the first permanent public sculpture commissioned as part of Hudson River Park. The bottle house or Private Passage is on display in Clinton Cove, along what is popularly referred to as the NYC RIver Walk . Private Passage is a 30 ' x 8’6” diameter wine bottle resting on its side. The interior along with the portholes form an interpretation of a stateroom derived from photographs of the Queen Mary. This artwork, not intended as a habitable structure, was created with support from the New York City Percent for Art program administered through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. |
This all stainless interior gives a glimpse into an all stainless steel design concept used in a container home on display on the River Walk, NY City.
As you will probably agree, this end view of the all-stainless bottle house shows a concept a bit more narrow in width than the more generous 12' x 40' shipping container structure widely used for this approach to emergency, temporary, or even permanent housing.
And unlike the rectangular-modular shape of shipping containers, round tank-containers won't accept stacking for taller structures in more crowded areas. |
Sources & Resources for Shipping Container & Similar Modular Housing
- The Sea Box, supplier of ISO Shipping Containers,
SEA BOX, Inc. Corporate Office,
1 SEA BOX Drive, East Riverton, NJ 08077-1910,
Tel: 856.303.1101 | Fax: 856.303.1501
E-mail: sales@seabox.com, Website: http://www.seabox.com/
The company provides containerized housing units in 20 & 40 ft. lengths and designed for a variety of uses other than materials shipping, such as workshops, storage locations, power generating systems, offices, sleeping quarters, interim housing, camps, for commercial, private, & military applications.
- Interport, supplies new & used shipping containers for rent or sale.
Interport Maintenance Co., Inc., 635 Delancy Street, Newark, New Jersey, 07105, Tel (973) 589-2329, Website: http://www.iport.com/
- Port Container Services, Newcastle (Head Office), 121 Woodstock St, Mayfield 2304 NSW Tel: (02) 4967 1744
Toll Free: 1300 957 70Shipping container supplier for Australia, Tel: 1300 957 709, Email: sales@portcontainerservices.com.au, Website: http://www.portcontainerservices.com.au/
- Adam Kalkin, Quik Build: Adam Kalkin's ABC of Container Architecture, Bibliotheque McLean (October 2008),ISBN-10: 0955886805, ISBN-13: 978-0955886805
- Paul Sawyers, Intermodal Shipping Container Small Steel Buildings, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; Second Edition edition (June 26, 2008), ISBN-10: 1438240325, ISBN-13: 978-1438240329
- Paul Sawyers, Expanded Discussion: of the Method for Converting Shipping Containers into a Habitable Steel Building, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (May 25, 2011), ISBN-10: 1463532113, ISBN-13: 978-1463532116
- Slawick, H., Bermann, J., Tinney, S. (2010), Container Atlas: A Practical Guide to Container Architecture, Berlin, Die Gestalten Verlag (2010), ASIN: B003ZZQWZE
Watch out: when buying a used shipping container; because a shipping container may have been used to transport illegal drugs or other chemicals or substances that could be harmful it makes sense to have the unit interior inspected, if appropriate, tested, and cleaned before taking further step to convert its use from shipping to a home, office, remote cabin or other structure.
Standards & Codes for Shipping Containers & Containerized Housing
- C.S.C. (In general, any container used for international transport must have a valid safety approval plate or "CSC plate". CSC is the abbreviation for Container Safety Convention.) Transport Information Service, http://www.tis-gdv.de
- ISO/TC-104 Shipping Container Standards, available from http://www.iso.org
- Lloyds Register of Shipping, Container Certification Scheme, available from http://www.lr.org/default.aspx Lloyds also provides an extensive document on Container legislation. http://www.lloydsregisterasia.com/sectors- we-serve/pdfs/container-legislation.pdf
- T.I.R. (Tasa Interna de Retorno)
- U.I.C. standardized container dimensions
- Lifting & placement equipment: standard COTS Intermodal equipment (cranes,
forklifts, spreaders, top-lifter, lifting frames etc)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about using shipping containers as housing
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Technical Reviewers & References
Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
- [1] Winnie Hu, "City Will Test a Disaster Housing Prototype Both Innovative and Inside the Box", The New York Times, 11/25/2012, original source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/nyregion/new- york-city-plans-disaster -housing-project.html?emc=eta1&_r=0
- [2] Wikipedia provided background information about some topics discussed at this website provided this citation is also found in the same article along with a " retrieved on" date. NOTE: because Wikipedia entries are fluid and can be amended in real time, we cite the retrieval date of Wikipedia citations and we do not assert that the information found there is necessarily authoritative.
- "Containerization" retrieved 11/25/2012, original source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Containerizatio
- [3] Adam Kalkin, Quik Build: Adam Kalkin's ABC of Container Architecture, Bibliotheque McLean (October 2008),ISBN-10: 0955886805, ISBN-13: 978-0955886805
- [4] Hope Lewis, "Human Rights and Natural Disaster, the Indian Ocean Tsunami", Human Rights, Fall 2006, p. 12
- [5] James Hamilton, "Architecture for Modular Data Centers", arXiv:cs/0612110 [cs.DB] [http://arxiv.org/abs/cs/0612110], Quoting:
Several factors are driving high-scale deployments of large data centers built upon commodity components. These commodity clusters are far cheaper than mainframe systems of the past but they bring serious heat and power density issues. Also the high failure rate of the individual components drives significant administrative costs. This proposal outlines an architecture for data center design based upon 20'x8'x8' modules that substantially changes how these systems are acquired, administered, and then later recycled.
- [6]Pernille Christensen, Elaine Worzala, "Teaching Sustainability: Applying Studio Pedagogy to Develop an Alternative Post-Hurricane Housing Solution Using Surplus Shipping Containers",
The Journal of Sustainable Real Estate, American Real Estate Society, ISSN 1949-8276 (Print), Volume 2, Number 1 / 2010
PP 335-360 Abstract
This paper illustrates the use of studio teaching as a technique for promoting an interdisciplinary approach to teaching students about sustainability. It emphasizes an iterative decision-making process to help students think 'outside the box' when exploring sustainable solutions. The paper focuses on a particular case adopted by a combined studio of architecture and landscape architecture students to help provide sustainable housing solutions for post-hurricane victims. The studio format provides a student-centered learning environment where students, faculty, and industry professionals work together to propose alternative post-disaster housing and community restoration strategies. The students gained a heightened understanding of the need to address global challenges in an interdisciplinary manner, which is key for solving sustainability problems.
- [7] Timothy Lukas Petrash, "What is Preventing the Practical Development of Shipping Containers as Mobile Dwelling Units in the U.S.?", Housing & Urbanization, Harvard University, retrieved 11/25/2012, original source: http://www.lukaspetrash.com/Public/Downloads/Papers/430% 20Whats%20Preventing%20Shipping%20 Container%20Homes%20%28no%20images%29.pdf
- [8] The Sea Box, supplier of ISO Shipping Containers,
SEA BOX, Inc. Corporate Office,
1 SEA BOX Drive, East Riverton, NJ 08077-1910,
Tel: 856.303.1101 | Fax: 856.303.1501
E-mail: sales@seabox.com, Website: http://www.seabox.com/
The company provides containerized housing units in 20 & 40 ft. lenghts and designed for a variety of uses other than materials shipping, such as workshops, storage locations, power generating systems, offices, sleeping quarters, interim housing, camps, for commercial, private, & military applications.
- [9] Brandt, Kathryn Ann, M.S., "Plugging In: Reinterpreting the Traditional Housing Archetype Within a Community Using Shipping Containers", A Thesis Submitted to
the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Greensboro
2011 (2011)
Directed by Robert Charest. 105 pp., [Copy on file as Brandt_uncg_0154M_10849.pdf]
- [10] Phillip C. Clark, Patent, 1987, described the method for conversion of a shipping container to a habitable building.
- [11] Urban Space Management, Container City, Trinity Buoy Wharf, London Borough of Tower of Hamlets, 2001
- [12] Peter DeMaria, two story container home designed, 2006
- [13] The eCORRE Complex, APHIDoIDEA Architects
- [14] Hall, E.T. (1976), Beyond Culture, Doubleday, New York
- [15] Paul Sawyers, Intermodal Shipping Container Small Steel Buildings, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; Second Edition edition (2008), ISBN-10: 1438240325, ISBN-13: 978-1438240329 Amazon:
Intermodal Shipping Container Small Steel Buildings explains how to purchase steel cargo containers and modify them for use as buildings under 1000 sq ft in size. Learn how you can save up to 40% over tradition lumber and factory made steel structures with these unique building blocks. New and used steel shipping containers are available nationwide. It's easy to buy containers and modify them for use as workshops, garages, cabins, guest houses, super carports, RV - 5th wheel covers, and much more (the book shows how). Enjoy a building that's up to fifty times stronger than most structures, built quick and with amazingly little labor. Take part in the shipping container building revolution with the worlds first book on the subject...Intermodal Shipping Container Small Steel Buildings! Includes photos, diagrams, plans, and charts. 116 pages, soft cover.
- [16] Paul Sawyers, Expanded Discussion: of the Method for Converting Shipping Containers into a Habitable Steel Building, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (2011), ISBN-10: 1463532113, ISBN-13: 978-1463532116
- [17] Slawick, H., Bermann, J., Tinney, S., Container Atlas: A Practical Guide to Container Architecture, Berlin, Die Gestalten Verlag (2010), ASIN: B003ZZQWZE
- [18] Peggi Clouston, Stephen Schreiber, Ray Kinoshita Mann, Without a Hitch - New Directions in Prefabricated Architecture, lulu.com (2009), ISBN-10: 0557080754,
ISBN-13: 978-0557080755,
- [19] Ryan E. Smith, Prefab Architecture: A Guide to Modular Design and Construction, Wiley; 1 edition (2010), ISBN-10: 0470275618, ISBN-13: 978-0470275610
- [20] Alison Arieff, Prefab, Gibbs Smith; (2002), ISBN-10: 1586851322, ISBN-13: 978-1586851323
- [21] Albert Ferre, Total Housing: Alternatives to Urban Sprawl, Actar (2010), ISBN-10: 849654088X
ISBN-13: 978-8496540880
- [22] Marc Levinson, The Box, How the Shipping Container Made the World, Princeton University Press (2008), ISBN-10: 0691136408, ISBN-13: 978-0691136400
- [23] Liana Grey, Shipping Containers Launch a New Wave in Housing Design, HTML, 5 page article from Real Estate Weekly, Hagedorn Publication (May 14, 2011)
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