- 24,868 articles
submit a project
publish a project
email
RSS
facebook
twitter- articles
in brief-
in full
- charts
-
this week
-
this month
-
all time
-
-
-
-
container summer residence - great for nature lovers
DIY project of designboom - container office in sardinia
image © designboom
for some time designboom has been planning to transfer our office during the summertime months from the bustling city
of milan to the seasides of sardinia (sardegna), an island off the western coast of italy. after all these years of publishing articles
on exciting experimental and sustainable architecture, we've undertaken our own DIY shipping container home project,
featuring adaptable living and work spaces. we wanted to share our experience as a starting point for readers who might be interested
in creating similar structures of their own!
there is a high demand for summer residences on sardinia, and in order to stop over-development of its coastal line and countryside,
the government has adopted extremely rigid criteria for building permits. receiving construction permission is a long and difficult
process, but one means of getting around the waiting period is the use of temporary and modular structures for housing.
we envisioned a low impact dwelling, which could be placed on our ground without any planning permission,
and ultimately integrated into a traditional permanent edifice once the proper legal permissions have been obtained.
the area features an outdoor kitchen and dining area, covered with a straw canopy, adjacent to two live-work container spaces.
these are arranged such that their external doors may be opened out from the container and latched together,
creating a wall that protects the dining area from excess wind. all spaces feature opening or sliding glass doors
installed within the container frame.
a separate shipping container serves as the bathroom, which has been fitted with a functioning toilet and shower.
great for nature lovers, the boxes make use of the hill itself, expanding interior space beyond the containers
image © designboom
in general it is a good thing to recycle materials that otherwise have no further use for their intended purpose.
cargo shipping containers are used only 20 years for its original purpose, nowadays their life-span is even shorter.
reason is that many asian economies have an export-oriented development strategy and we (europeans) are buying so much merchandise
from these countries, primarily china. the imbalances in commercial relations (we export less) determine a situation where it’s too
expensive to ship empty containers back to the their origin (it’s cheaper to buy new containers).
the result is an extremely high surplus of empty, used shipping containers in europe's ports...
… they represent a stockpile of ready-made building units.
we placed two of the three containers at a 90 degree angle. sizes are 20ft (6.1 m) x 8 (2.43 m) x 8 feet (2.43 m).
image © designboom
the containers, properly called inter-modal steel building units (ISBUs) are manufactured to international standards, easy to transport,
and readily available. constructed out of heavy-gauge corten steel, used for ocean shipping, water and flood proof, resistant to humidity
and saltwater, fire proof, designed to carry everything. they offer tremendous sustainability and strength.
the cargo containers come in two main standardized sizes, 40 ft (12.19 m) x 8 (2.43 m) x 8 feet (2.43 m) and 20 ft (6.1 m) x 8 (2.43 m) x 8 feet (2.43 m).
image © designboom
the price for containers themselves as well as all additional expenses is influenced by many factors (and your geographic location).
we bought 3 bright orange, used containers. on sardinia, they were a bit more expensive, but usually used containers
are within the range of 2,000 to 3,500 USD, in addition to transport costs and site preparation, which must be accessible
by heavy trucks and a crane.
two courtyards, designboom's own folding table developed in 2001
image © designboom
a container construction does not necessarily produce cost savings compared to a traditional permanent building,
but if you opt to build the home yourself (either completely or partially, performing the painting or
flooring by yourself),
the cost of the total project drops significantly. as mentioned before, with this structure we tried to be the least invasive
possible and avoided building a concrete block foundation. the containers were simply crane-lifted one by one
onto the natural stone pavement, and are thus completely removable.
a simple cane roof for some shade, outdoor flooring uses only original stone from the site
image © designboom
non-standard security sliding door frames were measured and cut prior to delivery.
unfortunately these sliding glass doors needed a few adjustments to be set into the openings.
without a special permission, creating a concrete floor was not an option (this kind of intervention generally does not comply
with the planning and building regulations in many regions, including those in sardinia).
therefore, we had only a few inches depth of gravel placed where the front and rear ends of the container rest.
as a result, the containers are not perfectly horizontal and not perfectly level, but this does not cause any problems
for living and working. for the outdoor flooring we used only original stone from the site, placed on sand and mortal - no concrete.
image © designboom
image © designboom
image © designboom
image © designboom
image © designboom
satellite connection
image © designboom
the designboom office interior of one of our shipping containers with the corrugated steel frame
image © designboom
birgit shows the idea of the two closed courtyards - on windy days we simply close the steel doors of the two containers
image © designboom
the plan was to place two containers at an angle of 90 degrees and at the right distance, that the doors at 45 degrees touch.
in this way, we simply close the steel doors of the two containers to protect us from the mistral wind.
image © designboom
image © designboom
image © designboom
a few of the team (jenny, anita, lauren, shuhei and andrea) have a second breakfast break (anita took an open-air shower)
image © designboom
container-built homes are popping up in urban planning sessions and university housing discussions worldwide.
many are the possibilities, from a museum project to a pop-up shopping center made of hundreds of them.
the designboom team took about 30 days to build this new environment of single holiday home offices.
image © designboom
working in untouched nature is very beautiful.
image © designboom
image © designboom
this was the starting point. on top of the hill, the containers were placed right next to each other with a 90 degree angle
image © designboom
the containers have been transformed to living spaces all directly on site.
lots of finishing work to do
image © designboom
we cut openings into the outer walls for a set of extra doors, for better ventilation and circulation.
cutting the sidewalls for extra doors
image © designboom
the biggest concern for this kind of project is insulation.
sardinia has a typical mediterranean climate. during the year there are approximately 300 days of sunshine, the average temperature is between
11 to 17 °C (52 to 63 °F), but in summer the extreme temperature fluctuations and lack of water make it a 'desert environment'.
from a LA-based friend (hello michael), we've heard that ceramic coatings will work under these conditions and on such structures.
we've painted the corrugated-steel exterior with SUPERTHERM ®, a ceramic coating that insulates the structure to reduce heating and cooling loads.
the product has been developed in part after the ceramic tiles the NASA uses on the space shuttle. SUPERTHERM ® ceramic coating is a paint mixed
with 4 ceramic compounds for application via spray or roller to exterior and interior surfaces. ceramic coatings are measured by their emissivity -
it measures both the ability to reflect heat and the amount of heat that is loaded onto a surface.
here we are mixing color pigments into the SUPERTHERM® ceramic paint to obtain the 'right kind of green hue'
image © designboom
the white ceramic paint is very effective, but we were forced to hide the containers, blending them perfectly into the surrounding nature.
unfortunately mixing the white base with dark color pigments (green) reduces the product's efficiency of about 50%.
nonetheless, although we installed air conditioning, we have never used it thanks to the SUPERTHERM® insulation.
if anything, the paint works almost too well, making the containers feel almost like refrigerators at night!
yeah, great color
image © designboom
interior details
before covering the walls with water-based paint we needed to get rid of a lot of rusty surfaces
image © designboom
image © designboom
painting the corrugated surfaces took a long time.
rivets
image © designboom
inside the containers we painted the walls with water-based sky-blue color and we've installed a dark plywood floor over the existing teak sub-floor.
simple book shelves are attached with rivets to the thin walls, the brackets are not very stable, slightly bending, but it worked out OK.
image © designboom
all work was D-I-Y, except the plumbing connection and the electrical installation, which have been done by local professionals.
exterior view of bathroom. please note the door with identity tag - 'approved for transport under customs seal ...'
image © designboom
according to the tags on the doors, a sort of identity card, the three containers come from china, thailand and india.
image © designboom
the third container, has a fully equipped bathroom, with shower box, washing machine, sink and composting toilet.
you don't find images of the interior, because we have not completely finished it yet.
summer is ending and we're leaving for milan now.
there is still lots to do - for next year. what about piling containers for a fantastic sea view from the second floor?
Best wishes,
Julian
the climate here is hot and dry and often a bit windy. the paint is better than we thought,
by day we have never used aircon and by night we use blankets!
the cost of the SUPERTHERM is about 25% higher than rust preventive paint.
Thanks for the follow up. I'll add Supertherm to my list of paints to look into.
Best,
Julian
third, we were in sardinia from july to beginning of september, it really gets hot here.
this year average temperature by day was 36 degrees celsius (97 degrees fahrenheit) and by night 22 degrees celsius (72 degrees fahrenheit).
and four, we bought 3 containers - 2 of them we painted with SUPERTHERM, we finished the paint and could not buy it on this island, so we used normal paint for the third container. the exposure to wind and sun has been the same for all three, all three had the same amount of doors for ventilation, but the 'normal' one which we used as bathroom, has been terribly hot by day and by night. this research might be too spontaneous and empirical, but this was what we have experienced so far.
I am just curious what will happen with condensation in autumn.
cheers
zippyflounder
Perhap your so cold because deserts are cold at night and you have no insulation.
Other wise nice clean and simple design especially the sliding doors.
I think in general the radiant barrier industry is usually suspect in their claims. Products often do not perform well and quickly degrade (dust, installation issues, etc.) and money saved on "thermal" paints and reflective barriers could be used for quality insulation materials which are carefully applied.
1. What is the rough cost of this summer residence until now?
2. The interior of containers was unpainted? It seems so, apparently. What about the concerns expressed in this ArchDaily article?
http://tiny.cc/ProsConsContainerArch
"However, there are a lot of downsides to building with cargo containers. For instance, the coatings used to make the containers durable for ocean transport also happen to contain a number of harmful chemicals, such as chromate, phosphorous, and lead-based paints. Moreover, wood floors that line the majority of shipping container buildings are infused with hazardous chemical pesticides like arsenic and chromium to keep pests away."
Thanks.
these are important points that you bring up.
1) a pure discussion of cost is difficult. in our process, the most expensive elements
were running electricity or water to the property, which we do not consider specifically
a part of our container project insofar as we plan one day to build a residence here.
we talked a bit in the article about the cost of the containers themselves,
and any further fittings depend very much on user choice. our costs were at times higher
because we preferred to use locally sourced materials rather than have them
transported to the island, but of course this is a very specific case given our location.
2)
-- ever considered the paint of your cars, which many people more or less live in? --
containers surely are not THE solution to a more 'healthy' lifestyle, and it is unfortunate
that much of the media today treats them in this way. they are what they are:
painted metal storage boxes. for us they offered a solution to temporary housing,
and with a little common sense and some hard work, we made modifications
for more comfortable and sound living.
where this concern is of greatest relevance (interiors), we did in fact take all the paint
and any rust off and repainted all surfaces with water-based paint.
on the outside we just got rid of 'loose' surface and painted over the old layer.
the original floors are quite far into their life cycle and even if they were treated with pesticides,
by now there should be little remaining of the harmful chemicals; but we nonetheless
sealed over them and lay down new wooden flooring.
we hope this addresses some of your concerns!
My intent was not to dismiss shipping container architecture as inherently unsafe but, on the contrary, I was just curious about how to create, with containers, a relatively healty environment as dwelling (temporary or permanent).
Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a relatively recent topic here in Italy and there is no awareness about the problem in the public opinion (most homes are surely insufficiently ventilated in cold months, especially after installing insulated glazing).
I guess that less effort and energy is required to assure a discrete IAQ in a new container house that in our old buildings, where little or no consideration was given to IAQ.
Until now my understanding is confirmed by what you wrote: for a decent IAQ is sufficient to remove paint and repaint with a safe product, at least internally, remove or seal the floor and assure a good areation, which in case of yours summer residence is given by opening doors and windows (house furnishings built without harmfull substances can help also).
Thanks again.
I think the question of insulation and vapour barriers is being a bit over simplified. It is quite a lot different than timber frame construction and doesn't work in quite the same way particularly if the external surface becomes overheated.
Please can you elaborate on your comments?
This is all getting a bit elaborate for what was an off the cuff analogy but
as I see it, if you see the timber frame as the container, then it seems pretty similar to me. External water proof layer, internal vapour barrier, lightweight structure with potential to overheat if not carefully designed. Alternatively, for a clad shipping container with external insulation the container acts as the vapour barrier, with an internal decorative lining. External finish with a rain screen or system of choice.
No problem. In reverse order the external insulation is what I would consider the right method for the reasons you have stated. However I would not be comfortable using the container as the waterproofing outer skin and then lining internally as you have described unless you could create a ventilated cavity which is easy enough.
Traditionally people have taken containers and similar units, cut out some openings for windows, stuck some insulation and finishes on the inside and they have been sufficient for the required purpose which is usually short term occupation where they have replaced Portakabin type units. Any defects which occur are accepted. I think that for long term, quality usage, a more cautious approach is required.
Although you have said that it is like 'timber frame' you have not made it clear how the components fit together except that the steel of the container replaces 'timber frame' element but it is on the outside of the construction also acting as the waterproofing component. This is a little difficult to understand.
To me the description is more like composite steel cladding panel construction albeit in this case with the panels being structural. However steel panel construction is either composite with bonded insulation following the profile of the sheet or made up on site which should then be vented due to the voids, even though the lining panels act as a vapour check.
The steel of a container is generally profiled which, with post applied insulation, will leave substantial unventilated voids. The relatively heavy gauge steel could be subject to extremes of temperature which in turn could cause problems with thermal movement and conducted heat particularly with regard to fixings and adhesives leading to opening of joints in the insulation and finishes. The cavity can become ultra hot with no method of cooling (think of dogs in cars).
The internal vapour barrier is always a problem because as soon as it is punctured in any way it ceases to become a vapour barrier and becomes a vapour check. It will still stop condensation generally but will not necessarily stop the movement of moist air in and out of a cavity through the holes, particularly where air in the cavity could become pressurised through heat build up. In a timber frame construction this goes unnoticed as the cavity has a breather membrane and is ventilated. I have yet to see a site applied vapour barrier system which has not been damaged, punctured either through bad handling or for services, or joints stuck (if at all) with crumpled tape or not fully adhered. In practice moist air will get into the voids and could condense on the back of the steel wall of the container in cold weather and theoretically on the back of the internal vapour barrier in very hot weather where the temperatures are reversed. The condensate could damage the insulation, fixings, and finishes.
Hope this helps.
Hope to see you again in Tokyo soon!
And since it is not an insulator, the air at night is cooler as it is supposed to be in a desert environment.
So it keeps the walls from heating up during the day, but does not protect against dropping temperatures.
Congratulation!
golany architects: two-tree house
situated among a forest pine trees, this house appears to have grown on the site. integrating the structure within this mature landscape was daring and capturing.
tsai design studio: visserhok container class
with a limited budget, this shipping container was transformed into a school for children located in the rural areas of south africa.
metalab: SPACE
supporting rapid delivery and installation, this container unit's fold out solar rack allows the unit to serve as a self-sustained first response center and emergency relief office.
atelier du pont: tres honore restau
a space filled with elements of fantasy and make believe. it is a world of fairly tales and new experiences. a wonderland for y...
the camerette collection by florens
gTar digital guitar
the digital guitar is designed as a solution for beginners to the instrument, constructed with the weight and feel of an entry-...
tom sachs: space program - mar
designboom has visited the american artist's most recent space odyssey installation exploring NASA's mars missions at the armor...
design time breil award ceremony
curved visions digital art competit
GRAPHIC DESIGN - may 17 - july 17
SHOPPING - may 17 - july 17
keep up to date with recent articles and upcoming events.
to receive both newsletters please check 2 boxes.
no contents, including text, photographs, videos, etc. may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of designboom. in addition,
no material or contents may be reproduced on the world wide web by techniques of mirroring, framing, posting, etc. without the written consent of designboom.
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN
VIETNAMESE