Construction with containers is a really economical method, but only if you keep it simple. So the basic idea is to take the existing box and just let it be this box. The special arrangement of the containers, that serve special functions such as kitchen, bathroom and stairs, leave spaces between them – the living spaces. The materials used are partly recycled, e.g. the insulation, and partly pre-fabricated, like the cross-laminated timber ceiling, what assures a short construction phase. The roof serves as insulation for the containers beneath and it is covered with photovoltaic panels.
This project offers a home to a large variety of people - to singles and families, to students, businessmen and senior citizens, ensuring that people of different cultural and social backgrounds live together. That is why the project provides a wide range of apartments from small studios for singles to the three level family-apartments, similar to a townhouse. The apartments can be extended or made smaller by adding or removing levels – so that inhabitants can adapt them to their current living situations. Situated in the upper floors, they guarantee certain privacy.
The first floor is exclusively used for the community’s infrastructure: there are laundry facilities, a child care center, a car-sharing pot (as an alternative to owning a car), offices and shops. “Community boxes” that contain pools, storages for bikes, recycling stations and small bars, are also situated on the first floor. So this area can be a vibrant meeting point for residents and people of the neighbourhood.
So go on and live the box, leave the box
…and finally love the box |
