Containers in a world upside down
Positive change can happen quickly if you let it!
March 28, 2021
Unyt Container City Competition
BARCELONA BLOCKHEADS
When I found the “Container City Competition” on the “Uni” website, It felt like I found something I had been interested in for a long time. I am a builder, but I have never designed anything larger than a small bungalow. It’s something I've always wanted to do, but frankly I never knew where to find such a design competition. Plus, I've had numerous clients that have often voiced the idea of using shipping containers. So, it was a perfect fit. I decided to enter the competition, and at the same time I enlisted my good friend to join along.
Team Blockheads consists of me, and my buddy. We live in the culturally rich and diverse city of Barcelona. Barcelona is a place synonymous with adventurous architecture and art. Antoni Gaudí, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dali are a few of the great artists from this Catalan region of Spain. Barcelona is a groovy place with all sorts of people from all over the world hanging out and doing things together. Conversation and ideas flow here. I am an artist from southern California that has dabbled in many different creative disciplines. I’ve toured all over the world as a musician, made short films, published articles, built furniture , and I have a small boutique building business. My antipodean design partner has been a sailor for most of his life, and has an industrial design degree. He has a design firm that caters to the marine industry. we’re both a bit freaky, nice fellows, and we occasionally make experimental electronic music that makes most listeners reach for ear plugs, but it’s music to our ears .........
Enough about us - let's design !
So the competition specifications were basically to build student housing using 15x shipping containers stacked no more than 4x high. They didn’t want a structure that was mostly steel frames with containers placed into them . we believed the natural stacking of the containers (maybe with a little extra support help HAHA) was important . Curiously the competition doesn’t specify where in the world the site is located , but somehow we thought Canada would be a lovely location for our structure .
STEP 1
CHIPS, BEER & LEGOs
Ok, it was time to raid my kid’s lego collection .... let the building begin !!!!!
Hmmmm,,,,,,,,, kinda cool , but the dimensions aren’t exactly correct , and a few desired shapes are unobtainable at this point. Plus drawing different design configurations is way too time ineffective as well. Next stop, my shop to cut some blocks at the right dimensions!
STEP 2
CHIPS, BEER & WOODEN BLOCKS
In my shop we created two sets of wooden blocks to the correct scale of the shipping containers. Now we could start to create different form iterations quickly at our leisure. we could quickly take a photo. Then move onto the next design. The idea was to create as many designs as possible. Then, after a sufficient number were created , we would start the elimination process. At this point we started to really think about what we wanted to create, and more importantly what was important for the STUDENTS, their FAMILIES, and the SCHOOL. So, we came up with this simple idea .... in the form of some simple questions .
MOM ..... is it safe?DAD ...... is it a good place to focus and study?
STUDENT .... is it going to be a fun place to live ?
SCHOOL ..... is it cost effective, safe, a good place to study , and finally a good place for student interaction?
So , after we started to think about these 4 basic questions, it helped us focus our designs ideas to satisfy these points.
CHIPS, BEER, OPTIONS, OPTIONS, OPTIONS
We ended up creating well over twenty strong designs, and the next important phase of our journey was the elimination process. So, we started by asking friends which ones they preferred, and what we found was that for as many people as we asked, we would receive the same amount of opposing answers . there were no standouts .
One thing we started to realize at this point in the process was that some designs looked great from an aerial perspective, but not great at a street level or from the interior. So we decided to focus on the designs that looked great from a street level view and the program functioned well internally. This helped us eliminate a large number of design possibilities.
Many of our first designs incorporated a lot of usable green spaces, but basically towards the end of our design process we exchanged these ideas for more of an energy efficient direction. We accomplished this by incorporating a substantial amount of solar panels. It was easy to fall into the Bjarke Ingles trap of current popular design. His influence was important to us, but we also felt as artists it was important to try out our own ideas. We decided to go with energy efficiency instead, and anyway our little creation was in Canada, a place with tons of nature all around.
STEP 4
CHIPS, BEER WE HAVE A WINNER (DO WE ?)
Ok so we narrowed it down to this design. We felt it was dramatic enough to get our attention if we were to see it from a street perspective. It had light and air on all sides of each 40’ container module. The other huge advantage of this floor plan is that it created spaces between the containers that could be used as shared kitchen areas. The only thing missing was some sort of a student hangout . So we created a student community space on the roof. Because the rules specify no “adding additional structure in excess of the total area of the 15x containers”, we decided on a steel frame structure with windows all around. Because of the importance of security , we also included two elevators, and a staircase for easy access/ fire exits. It’s interesting to note that at this time things became a little more laborious. Thus , we dug in and grabbed a few more Estrellas (our famous local beer) ha ha.
STEP 5
CHIPS, BEER, HALLELUJAH WE HAVE INSPIRATION !
As artists we very much understand the importance of gut instincts, and an open mind to quick changes. So, after we had added all of the basic ideas to our design (stairs , elevators, railings, etc ...) , we decided to show it to our beautiful and intelligent Italian friend. Her comment was short and course changing . “ I like it , but I would never feel safe in it “ ! OH OHHHHH alarm bells going off in my head ! Remember this was our number one concern, SAFETY !!!! So the next thing we did was elevate it on a three meter box ,,,,, How’s that ? She said she still felt unsafe in it because inhabitants of the building could still have access to the other neighbors apartments ....SO THEN WE DID WHAT WOULD BE THE DIRECTION CHANGING MOMENT OF OUR DESIGN .... We flipped it upside down, and what we saw was not only more secure, but it also transformed our building into an exciting modern, and more organic design. The building suddenly became alive. It took on the aspect of a large plant reaching upwards . it had hope, it had movement, it had surprise, and we both went ohhhhhh ( just like Minions ).
Suddenly the project felt like it had gasoline thrown on it . We were excited ! The building became dynamic, it was light, it floated. All this happened in about a 5 minute time span . We love Italians =)
STEP 6
CHIPS , BEER & GETTING READY FOR THE LAUNCH
So now we are adjusting all of the exit security routes (elevators, staircases), and problems that have presented themselves with this upside down change .
Because we don’t know the exact location of where it will eventually be located, we kept the look of it very minimal . We feel that different insulation possibilities can be applied depending on its final resting place. The building has a 350 square meter footprint, and can be assembled on either land or water. Each container pod (depending on the layout) can house around 30-40 students . Each student bedroom has an ensuite bathroom. numerous kitchen / shared area options are possible. The design incorporates 360 degree air circulation, and the scalability is adaptable to any environment .
STEP 7
CHIPS, BEER & INTERNET
It’s pretty hard to ignore the state of the environment and the impact human habitation is having on it. We have to be SMART. EFFICIENT and SUSTAINABLE. Though it is an overused buzz-word - if we ‘sustain’ this current level of growth and consumption, we as a species are doomed. This is a truth we all willfully ignore as we tune into our weekly Netflix series and swipe through our social media feeds pretending we aren’t going to hell in a handbasket.. So we do what we can. This competition is a wonderful opportunity to showcase real solutions. Smart solutions. A Smart Integrated Container City . SICC
HOW ?
By following the initiative of ‘Smart Cities’ and the United Nation’s 17x guidelines for Sustainable Development. We can’t solve world hunger with our building, but we can do “the most with the least” as ol’ Bucky Fuller would say.
Our design not only looks spectacular, but it also has the potential to be autonomous with renewable energy and water recycling options that include:
- solar energy ( 195 sqm of solar panels on the roof will produce 30 kilowatts or 30,000 watts per day )
- Mechanical or chemical energy storage facilities
- Material/rubbish recycling
- on-site sewage water processing
- edible vegetation possibilities ( aeroponic vertical garden walls ) .
- Rapid customisable Interiors with a CNC equipped FabLab in the basement.
- Disability access with wheelchair ramps and 2x elevators
- Storage for bicycles and re-charge points for electric vehicles/scooters.
I could go on about all the fabulous features of our design, but I’ll let our presentation do the rest of the talking.
Good luck to all of the contestants. Cheers,
The Barcelona Blockheads =)
ps . we think this is a very realistic and scalable solution that can be built , and we want to build it !!!
