The Shipping Muse
- Tags:
Articles
-
Shipping Container Retail Design
I wish I could see this cool new pop-up shop in person, but alas, it's in Manhattan and only until October 31. It's the first (albeit temporary) retail store for fashion designer Richard Chai, set…
-
Contained
Two San Francisco art and travel addicts overhauled a loft—and customized a pair of shipping containers—to accommodate their collection and reflect their passions.
-
Transport Perceptual Pod by Alberto Frias
Las Vegas–based architect Alberto Frias' design, an LED-illuminated perceptual pod called Transport, drew a lot of attention on the showroom floor at Dwell on Design—people were…
Products
-
Transport Lamp
Developed by the Crafts Council and retailer Twentytwentyone, Ten’s collection posits that sustainable design can be positive and beautiful through a series of charming small-scale household objects…
-
Gen2 Helmet
Helmets may not be the most alluring bike accessories out there, but they are the most essential. This low-profile silhouette is more subdued than the standard style. And if you need more…
-
Low Chair
Inspiration is unpredictable: Thankfully, the muse for Jasper Morrison’s leisurely curled and wooden-slatted Low chair was a found wine crate and not a discarded box of Franzia.
Dwell Collections
-
Bold Color, Small Space
From private residences to commercial spaces, there are myriad ways to harness the power of the palette. In this video series, Dwell delves into creative ways in which color can play an…
-
Small Time: Pieces That Do Double Duty
What’s the best way to deal with limited space? Find furniture that does double duty—–whether it’s a rolling cart that becomes a prep station and then a makeshift dining…
-
Small Farms Across the United States
We're creating a map of small farms, where dirt under the fingernails and sweat on the brow mean self-sufficiency, sustainability, and unbeatably delicious homegrown food. Help us build out the map…
Videos
-
Contained
In a quest to create some private space in a soaring loft, two San Franciscans turned to shipping containers as a design solution. View the final transformation, which includes a teak-and-copper…
-
Behind the Scenes of InMotion, by Dwell and BMW i
Check out video coverage of our first in a series of events with BMW i. "InMotion: Live, Drive, Innovate" kicked off on the eve of ICFF in New York City May 15th. We delved into the future of…
Tips
-
Stainless-Steel Kitchen Islands: Ideal for Small Kitchens
When the Stonorovs set out to design their 400-square-foot house in Oakland for themselves and their young toddler, the kitchen required particular attention. They found a kitchen…
-
Find Furniture that's Easy to Conceal
For a 500-square-foot loft in downtown Los Angeles, Tag Front designed a rectangular mahogany table with four ottomans that nestle underneath, creating a simple brown block when not in use. When…
Event
-
Trains and Other Transport,
This is an opening reception for Minneapolis–based painter Beth Loraine Bowman's new collection of works, Trains and Other Transport.
Advertising
Advertising
Related Products
-
Transport Lamp
by Tomoko AzumiDeveloped by the Crafts Council and retailer…
-
Gen2 Helmet
by Nutcase HelmetsHelmets may not be the most alluring bike…
-
Low Chair
by Jasper MorrisonInspiration is unpredictable: Thankfully, the…
Slideshow?
I love the bright colored planters...such unique shapes Where can I find these?
Slideshow: http://numendevelopment.com/gallery/project-photos
Click the yellow "Slideshow" button at the top right-hand corner of this article to view additional photos (including extras not published in the magazine) and read more about the house.
Very interesting project. Great creativity in the use of materials. Floor plans would enhance the understanding of the configuration.
Any one know what brand of bicycle-built-for-two that is? S'wonderful!!
It's a Schwinn Twinn made from the 50's through the 70's. .
Nice story about a cool house. I would have preferred less of your Houston bashing, however subtle.
I have toured the house and spoken to the builder - while this is a very interesting house, it was also quite expensive.
How is it insulated?
Someone please tell me what kind of wood is used throughout this house! It's GORGEOUS!
Never mind! Found out it's woven strand Tiger bamboo flooring. Lovely, indeed.
Neil - Go here for more info: http://numendevelopment.com/cordell-house About the insulation: The roof and floor are Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) which are a thick continuous insulating core sandwiched between engineered panels made from recycled wood products. They are custom-fabricated for the project, so no waste is generated in on-site construction.
Anyone know what the final cost ended up being? As in is this truly a low-cost option or expensive on a per sq. ft. basis like most other green homes?
outstanding design ! Does anyone have a floorplan for this configuration, I would like to see where the shipping container end and conventional construction begins, its a huge volume for just 3 x 40 ft and 1 x 20 ft containers.
The paintings in photos 12 & 14 look interesting. Artist's name?
The planters are designs by Melissa Borrell. They are not on the website yet but you can contact Melissa Borrell Design for more information. www.melissaborrell.com
The paintings are by Michael Meazell: http://www.michaelmeazell.com/
The floorplan is shown on pg 85 of the actual article.
To clarify on art: Slide 4/5: Painting by Salli Babbitt www.sallibabbitt.com Slide 11: Globes by Melissa Borrell www.melissaborrell.com Blue Painting on wall to right of bathroom, artist unknown Slide 12: Inside the back container, painting by Charlie Buchanan Outdoor painting on right side of glass by Michael Meazell http://www.michaelmeazell.com/ Slide 14: Painting by Michael Meazell http://www.michaelmeazell.com/ Slide 16: Painting by Charlie Buchanan Slide 20: Painting on right hand corrugated wall by Michael Meazell http://www.michaelmeazell.com/ Slide 23: Left side of TV, painting by Salli Babbit. www.sallibabbitt.com Right side of TV, painting by unknown local Houston artist Slide 24: Painting by Salli Babbit. www.sallibabbitt.com
@No Debt Plan Regarding the cost of container construction, this is on Numen Development's website: As with any kind of construction, there are a wide range of variables that impact the overall cost. Many of those are driven by the owners’ preferences on mechanical systems, structural components, and interior finishes (much like options on a new car). These choices can affect the overall construction budget for a home to the point of doubling it. Our completed projects have ranged from $100/sq.ft. to $150/sq.ft with the upper and lower limits being the exceptions.
Charlie Buchanan (Painting, slides 12 & 16) can be contacted at cwbuchanan@hotmail.com
So does Supertherm really work? It's next to impossible to find any real information on this product that was used to insulate the walls in this house - the little independent information I can find seems to indicate it's either really amazing stuff or snake oil
There have been several shipping container houses built in Southern California area, mainly the South Bay area: Venice and Redondo Beach. These houses are built with "stacked" containers! There is also Logical Homes that offers several plans for houses built with containers. http://demariadesign.com/1/ http://www.logicalhomes.com
This is a nice house, but there is a much bigger house made of shipping containers in Houston. It is several stories tall and has a rooftop pool and spa.
I bought a custom container home from a company in Hong Kong called ISOPOD ( www.isopod.cn ) 6 years ago for my property in northern B.C., Canada. The house was a standard 960 square foot model they manufacture from 3 new intermodal frames and although not nearly as fancy as the house in this article, it was extremely well built and finished. Also, at what I paid then ($64,500 USD or about $67 per sq. foot) delivered to Vancouver, it was a fabulous deal ! I thoroughly enjoyed the home until I had to move last year for work, but had no trouble selling it (for a healthy profit...). I still miss the home, but not the northern winters.
I really enjoyed the slide show, i think the design is great..
We were fortunate to stumble across it while wandering around the neighborhood and it is a wonderful home! The owner allowed us to come in a see the interior! Such a great home and such nice people.
Went by house in Houston no comparison to house in magazine. Has 5 baths 4 living areas plus rooftop pool and spa. No words can discribe it! MUST SEE!!! What were you thinking, D.well???
I don't think Dwell covers big houses with 5 bathrooms. They tend to focus on the more modestly sized homes.
Downtown Houston may not be as vibrant as NYC but it's no ghost town either. From this article one would assume we have tumbleweeds rolling down the downtown streets and a population of vampires who can only live and work below ground. I'm very dissapointed with the bashing that Houston got in this article and it's obvious that the writer has no clue about the city they are writing about.
Can any one tell me the address or the firm that did the larger 5 bedroom home in Houston that GingerBunny mentioned? Also, the final price for this home was???
Hi DrBrenda. As a policy and to respect the privacy of homeowners, we do not allow home addresses to be published on dwell.com. We do, however, encourage (and love to follow and be part of) the great discussions about modern architecture that take place in our comments sections. Thanks for understanding and being part of the Dwell community.
First time I have come across the Designer on this project Christopher Robertson - I totally blown away by the fact that he produced this work as a first time design with Shipping Containers, I am sure we will hear more from this man.
I noticed that someone said that the floor plan was in page 85 of the mag but is it online anywhere? I would love to see it!
Just a note that may be of interest to anyone who may be considering actually building something like this. As CapreeK, on 9/7/09. mentioned, on this thread, SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) were used for the roof and floors (I assume that this would have been for insulation, and to provide a surface for attaching finish flooring materials, and roofing materials) While the shipping container concept may work for many, home designs such as this can be constructed with SIPs, walls, and roofs, and, sometimes, floors, as they are a structural building system within themselves, and are available all over the US, and internationally as well. They come in sizes up to 8' x 24' thus the compatibility with the typical 8' wide by 8' high containers that are usually 20' or 40' in length. Of course the SIPs will give you more design flexibility, and are also considered to be a "green building" option, offering the benefits of super energy efficiency, sustainable use of resources, less job site waste, and more,
I am building a container home in South Texas about 2800 sq. ft. Yes, the Supertherm works and the Insulating Stucco is quite nice. If your going to put any type of facade on it, I suggest 2 coats of ceramic insulating paint on the outside of the steel, one coat on the inside of the steel and and prodex on the inside including the roof. Foam under the floors. For ships & offshore rigs, they just use insulating pins and 2" to 4" against the bulk heads and decks. ( Thats walls, floors and roof.) The leave a 3/4" air gap which can be used in a container also. There are plenty of good ways to insulate a container.
Re: SIPs/Supertherm South Texas may be fine... but what about Northern Minnesota ? Anything under R 35 is far from energy efficient.The Numen Developments site says that 10 thousandths of an inch of supertherm is equal to 6 inches of fiberglass insulation. I have a hard time believing that.
Cool project, very inspiring. I have a hard time finding its location. Can Yor tell me where it is located?
@Roy... I cannot speak for 6 inches of fiberglass insulation, but I dare you to watch this video with Bob Vila and SuperTherm ceramic coating and tell us you're NOT impressed ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfslOOHwEB0
I have that exact same Lane coffee table! I also have the large square version that came as part of the set. The two-layer table is the only one I'm missing. Beautiful piece!
My husband and I are very interested in building a container home here in Texas. We are in the Dallas area and have ran into road blocks and skepticism. I am looking for some guidelines on how to go forth with the design and build process with specifics on presenting for permits under the current building codes. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
You need to do some proofreading of your work before you post it. The number of typos and/or misused words really detracts from an otherwise interesting article.
I used to think that shipping container housing was cool until I did some research. Shipping containers are practically *made* of toxins in order to prevent bugs and corrosion. I was involved with an artists' collective here that wanted to do a shipping container art center, but we settled on a conventional steel framed structure - it's recyclable, sustainable, and long-lasting with no added toxins as it's meant to be a habitable space from the get-go. Shipping containers have high levels of chromates in the paint due to the marine coatings. They're typically made in China/Asia, places known not to care much about lead / heavy metals pollution. The wooden floors are typically made of non-sustainably harvested tropical hardwoods and impregnated with highly toxic pesticides. So basically you have to rip out the floor, sandblast every square inch of painted surface, and only *then* can you start construction - but there are still more problems. The most popular way of putting in windows/doors is a plasma cutter or fireman's saw or acetylene torch, which burns the metal and coats every interior surface with toxic metal dust. Shipping containers are also terribly heat conductive (being steel) and hard to heat and cool even with spray-in insulation and insulating paint. Also, the structural integrity is badly compromised when you cut the corrugated steel walls to put in windows/doors so making multistory designs becomes dicey. Due to all these factors, the best thing to do with shipping containers is to crush and recycle them, not use them as houses.
Hauled containers many moons ago so i find this stuff interesting. Have seen this done over the years and in many different configurations.It seem like an easy idea if ya get a good deal on the boxes,but a lot more to it than just stacking for sure.Have yet to see a refrigerated box be used.Looks like they did a nice job on this one. Not sure of this is thinking outside the box, inside the box or just about the box.
RSS Feed
Add a Comment