Home Front: shipping containers

 
I've briefly covered the use of shipping containers as houses, but I wanted to go into them in a little bit more depth. About 80% of the world's containers are either 6.1m, twenty foot or 12.2m, forty foot standard length boxes of the dry freight design. These typical containers are rectangular, closed box models, with doors fitted at one end, and made of corrugated weathering steel (commonly known as CorTen).
 
Weathering steel refers to the chemical composition of these steels, allowing the steel to rust in order to form the protective coating.
 

The containers are typically lined with a plywood floor, but bare walled and ceilinged. Corrugating the sheet metal used for the sides and roof contributes significantly to the container's rigidity and stacking strength, just like in corrugated iron or in cardboard boxes.
 

 
Standard containers are 2.44 m (8') wide by 2.59 m 8'6" high, although the taller "High Cube" or "hi-cube" units measuring 2.90 m (9'6") have become very common in recent years.
 
By the end of 2013, high-cube 40 ft containers represented almost 50% of the world's maritime container fleet, according to Drewry's Container Census report.
 

 
ISO containers have castings with openings for twistlock fasteners at each of the eight corners, to allow gripping the box from above, below, or the side, and they can be stacked up to ten units high. Regional intermodal containers, such as European and U.S. domestic units however, are mainly transported by road and rail, and can frequently only be stacked up to three laden units high. Although the two ends are quite rigid, containers flex somewhat during transport.
 
Their standardised design, high strength and durability materials, makes the use of shipping containers for domestic repurposing quite appealing. They can be stacked, staggered and arranged. The corrugated steel can be welded, cut and shaped, and the heavy beams at each corner and the solid base give you the ability to completely cut away the sides to give a open-plan effect.
 

 
The rest of the stats of the containers give you an idea of their workability, as far as architectural use goes: A 40' container weighs 3,800 kg and has a capacity of 67.5 m³, and are typically rated to have a net load of 26,200 kg. That's a lot of capacity. The internal dimensions are 12.03m x 2.35m x 2.38m, and externally 12.2m x 2.44m x 2.59m.
 

Converting them into homes isn't anything new, and there are loads of resources to review plans and different configurations are widely available.
 
There is also some good advice about what NOT to do with your shipping container, namely burying them, because they are not designed to take loads on the sides or middles of the panels, rather than on their stacking corner posts.
 
There are also the issues with the containers "floating" if buried, let alone at sea, if they fall off the back of a ship, which apparently happens more often than anyone wants, but other than that, they are very versatile, and readily available, rapidly pre-fabricated units.
 

They are, however, not designed to be bulletproof, and the folks from Civil Advantage put them to the test in the following video.
 
However, if you really need that kind of thing going on, there are of course, options. However, all told, it looks like they are robust, resilient and readily available home construction alternative. I think I would really like to do this at some stage, at least a two storied construction, and in my minds eye, a horse-shoe style two-story building, which can be buttoned up securely at the ground level.
 
 
What do you think?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Home Front: Modscape house

I came across this interesting house design, by Modscape.com.au which piqued my interest, as I always look out for good fall-back positions, or even first-front positions. I've covered walled security for homes in the past, and walled storage facilities I've also covered my own home and why it's not all that well suited to sticking out a disaster, so it's interesting to see a purpose built place, and not all that far from myself.

The design brief of this home was to "create an airy pavilion that takes advantage of the views while providing a private haven from the busy road below". Rendered brick walls frame the home to create a protective compound which not only the provides the homeowner privacy, but ensures the home is secure. The home’s long, linear form takes advantage of the northern sun and visually connects to the bush and mountain landscape beyond.

Here is the link to the house design brief.

This modular home, in Berry, NSW,  creates a private home behind security walls for the clients who were based in my own home town of Melbourne.

All of the services are concealed from view behind the high walls, with visitors entering via a large pivoting door that penetrates the wall. They then move through a timber battened walkway where dappled light from the surrounding bushland filters through before entering into the double height entrance space. The main living zone opens out to the north-facing courtyard.

Meeting all the functional requirements of modern, sustainable design, the home has a total floor area of 465 sqm and consists of 11 modular sections with a large, open plan kitchen/living/dining area at its heart. A timber joinery core conceals services such as butler’s pantry, laundry and bathroom and houses a staircase leading to an upstairs area. It should be noted that that upstairs area is exposed and visible from the outside of the walls.

The finished palette is minimal and modest with timber, concrete and zinc used in an uncomplicated manner create a design that is humble and nondescript. All landscaping, including the pool, was also coordinated by Modscape.

FEATURES
Open plan kitchen/living/dining
2 bedrooms with joint ensuite
Guest bedroom
Upstairs "music" room
Butler’s pantry + laundry
2 car garage + workshop
Ribbon strip timber cladding
Landscaping including pool
Hydronic heating
Grid connect solar
Built to Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) 29

Looking at the plans, and the layout, including both the property selected, but also the way it sets in to the surrounding areas, offering security through obscurity, I can see the real value in having a property such as this. Putting in extra rain collection reservoirs, solar and/or wind power generation and a fuel reservoir, vegetable beds and perhaps chicken runs to set up a more self-sustainable setup, you have quite a secure (from mundane risks) and off-grid home to fall back on.

Wish-Lust - Green Magic Homes

It's been a while since I've covered housing and house design, but I've recently seen a couple of really interesting design platforms and I wanted to share with you all one of the standouts.

These are the modular pre-fabricated homes, that are sod-roofed that are offered by Green Magic Homes. 
This US run, Mexico based production company offers both design and production of homes built with prefabricated fiber re-enforced polymer modules.  Green Magic Homes are light weight, waterproof, mold resistant, impervious to rot and infestations, and offer infinite design possibilities. Flexible and durable, the structure will reportedly last hundreds of years with minimal maintenance.

These elegant arched structures are made of fiber reinforced polymer modular components which are durable, flexible and waterproof. With seemingly endless design possibilities, these structures can be assembled quickly and easily, with minimal cost to create a gracious living environment in harmony with nature. GreenMagicHomes offer 12 different pre-made designs to give an idea of what their whole-home builds can look like.

Green Magic Homes are quick and easy to assemble. Each component has perforated flaps that screw and seal together and are anchored to the foundation, which allows for fast installation and solid construction. No special skills or heavy equipment are required for assembly, just scaffolding.  All the seams are sealed to maintain waterproofing.

In general, they are designed to withstand the weight of 20cm (7.8") of soil and plants in the highest point of the structure, which is the most critical. Additionally, they are also designed to support 200kg or more per square meter  (1.4 psi) of live load, i.e., there may be people walking or sitting on them, as well as light structures such as kiosks or pergolas. 

The earth berms on the sides of the structures and on the roof are structured in such a way that they actually collaborate with the stability and strength of the finished structure, instead of being a dead load. The technology used in these earthworks is an evolution of various methods of earth construction and stabilization such as superadobe and geotextiles, designed for the living earth and vegetation covering of the GMH system. Composite ducts and channels for electrical wiring and water pipes as well as mechanical ventilation ducts, can be added to the shell at any point necessary.


Green Magic Homes are super insulated with a high stabilization index, are virtually earthquake proof, deflect tornadoes, offer maximum resistance against hurricanes and provides UV radiation protection. Having a layer of soil over the top of them not only gives you stability, and cover, but the arched shape leaves nothing for high winds to catch on, if you are in storm prone areas.


The system is designed and calculated structurally by GMH's engineers, reportedly using the latest spreadsheet software and simulation software, in compliance with national and international standards and the IBC, or international building code. Logically, these calculations are additionally supported by actual tests of materials and structures already completed.

Other than the ducted channels for wiring, A/C and piping, any additional fixing or fastening internally brings a challenge that regular plaster, timber or even stone houses don't face. Putting a screw or nail into the walls punctures the shell and creates a breach in the waterproofing of the structure. Fastening elements, fixed to the walls with special adhesives, such as two part epoxy and in some cases adhesive polyurethane sealants like those used for sealing the modules can be used for this purpose instead.


In the case of very heavy elements that have a strong leverage effect that may exceed the capacity of an adhesive (such as in the case of a projecting arm for a 50" TV), it will be necessary to fix this item before covering the walls with earth, in order to put through-bolts that then can be sealed from the outside according to instructions.

Small diameter ventilation ducts with or without extraction fans can be installed in most areas as long as they are specified in the initial design so that they can be incorporated into the production of the modules, they really do offer a holistic approach to  home building. 

You can also use the areas where there are unused electrical ducts for securing screws, since these pipelines form a double layer that prevents the formation of any possible leaks.

 The typical foundation system, applicable in most of cases, is a simple reinforced concrete beam 30 x 30cm in section, that goes under all the modules and which also serves to anchor them. However, GMH recommend that a soil study is important (as for any construction), to determine the soil’s load bearing capacity and other characteristics which may affect the foundations.


Whilst more of a Tatooine House than a Vault-Tec bunker this design and modular functionality really appeals to me, and if I were to ever be in a position to build and deign my own home, I would strongly consider something like the Green Magic Homes, for the buried in features, and Hobbit-like aesthetic, if nothing else.