CONTAINER CITY: LOTUS LODGES

Lotus Lodges reworks the typical spacial layout of student accommodation. It has been designed by prioritising community space to create a strong atmosphere for the residents. The shipping containers have been composed around a perimeter to emphasise the central lotus structure, which is the engine for the design both symbolically and physically.

CONTAINER ERGONOMICS AND STRATEGY

The containers are approximately the right height for a ceiling. They are an adequate width for a walkway to be adjacent to living facilities in which they make up for in length. The containers are good conductors but bad insulators as they are made of metal, so they will need 150mm of insulation on every site. Services can run through this. Windows will require a steel frame to reinforce the container as the material can not take the load by itself. Stacking them will still require a steel frame/floor in-between so the floor of the container can take the load. Putting the containers together will be more energy efficient - similar to an apartment’s u-value versus a single house.

URBAN RIGGER by BIG

This design is so effective with it’s spacial layout and self sustainability. The containers generate a core space in common for the residents to inhabit.

STUDENT ACCOM

Typically student accommodation provides a confined community space or basic facilities 

LOTUS LAYOUT

The shipping containers have been assembled to create an interesting space at the core of the site whilst bringing a contrast of solidity and voids, allowing light to travel fluently around. 

Each container provides one apartment of comfortable living with a lot of community space just outside the door. The design can be placed on any site, such as urban space or erected above a structural grid. A water site most suits the technical and narrative intent.

STUDENT LIVING

A lotus is a symbol of purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration and rebirth, making it the perfect narrative to underpin a forward-thinking student accommodation scheme.

The lotus provides a sheltered social space with amenities for students. This was a major focus of the design as student accommodation typically disregards this and focuses on maximising the number of living quarters.Under the lotus, students can relax at the bar and cafe, or tend to errands in the glass-walled foyer.

HYDRO-POWER

Inside the lotus is a hydro generator pumping both captured rainwater and water from the below ocean. A turbine converts the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into mechanical energy. Then a generator converts the mechanical energy from the turbine into electrical energy.

In addition to the solar panels, this makes Lotus Lodges self sustainable. The lotus can also filter water through electrolysis to give optimal water quality