Unusual Building Material - Shipping Containers!

Shipping Containers Used as a Building Material

People believe that like many things sold in the United States, shipping containers were made in China, however, this is not true. Malcolm McLean, an American man, created and patented the very first shipping container in 1956 (All About Shipping Containers, 2010).

Before McLean all cargo was boxed in wooden crates made of odd sizes, making the process of loading and unloading very slow and inconsistent. After 20 years of observing this slow and unorganized process, McLean decided he would create a better system to transport cargo to ships and warehouses. After purchasing the Pan Atlantic Tanker Company and renaming it the Sea-Land Shipping Company, McLean was able to experiment and create a better transportation and delivery container than the crate. His final design is now known as the Shipping Container. The Shipping Container is strong, durable, left resistant, stackable, and easy to load, unload, ship, transport, and store (All About Shipping Containers, 2010)

On November 23, 1987, Phillip C. Clark became the first man to file for a United States patent for a “Method for converting one or more steel shipping containers into a habitable building at a building site and the product thereof”.  The patent was granted on August 8, 1989.  Then, in 2006, Southern California architect Peter Maria designed the first two-story shipping container home to exist in the United States. (Pagnotta, 2011).

Shipping Container architecture is widely approved and encouraged as a trendy green alternative to traditional building materials. Shipping container homes are considered a fast, green, and sustainable approach to building. Due to the fact that the Intermodal Steel Building Unit’s (ISBU) are manufactured in a factory-controlled environment, they are considered to be standardized and reliable. Home builders save time, money, and wood by using a product that is manufactured, pre-fitted for installation, and structurally complete. Shipping containers, or building units, also have outstanding fire and safety ratings and tremendous sustainability and strength (Pagnotta, 2011).

Design Expo

During the Design Expo we got to explore lots of new materials and furnishing. I was really impressed by many of things that were being offered. However, my favorite material from the Design Expo is the Clarus Glassboards. Glassboards are made from 1/4" thick tempered safety glass so they are very stronger than normal glass and can last a long time. Another great thing about Glassboards is they can be written on in almost any type of marker, even sharpie! Simply using windex will remove any marker from the surface without leaving any scratches (I know because I tried it). Erasing on whiteboards can often be challenging because shadows from writings will remain. When using Glassboards, everything comes off very easily. Glassboards can also come with a magnet on the back or a logo design, making them great for business areas. In addition, Glassboards can come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors to help correspond with the area in which it is being placed. 

Campus Materials

Fiber based art is easy to find because we have flags located all over campus. The flags help show school spirit while still adding to the design of the room.

Flooring! The grey carpeting is great for the SUB because it is dark enough to hide spills, dirt, or any other messes. And the square patterns coordinate with the ceiling tiles, which helps bring the room together. The mats by the doors are a great way of helping keep dirt out. They are also removable which makes them very easy to replace when they get dirty.

Two different types of panel systems! 

Both very modern looking. The metal ceiling panels keep the room looking clean and sheik without adding too much color or overwhelming patterns. The panel systems behind the sofas help control noise and add privacy to the area.

Two great examples of seating! Both are clean, well upholstered, and in good condition! 

The chair is very casual seating located in the Student Union Building and the sofa is more formal seating found in the Merket Alum Center - both appropriately upholstered for durability and looks!