Container housing is a more economical and sustainable building options.

Container building is not only a synonym of industrialization in western countries, but also has developed into a high level of design and technical level of the mature way of construction. This way of construction also directly develops the unique aesthetic value of container buildings.

#01

“Industrial wind container housing in the mountains”

The Kubo sustainable housing project in Spain's Zaarazoza Forest, made from recycled containers, is greener than traditional housing, costs much less to build and can be designed to suit any budget style preference.

It uses the method of borrowing scenery to enter the room, forming a large-scale landscape encircling inward, blending with nature, creating an immersive landscape experience.

The designer uses the box concept, the container, the assembly type this kind of processing way, through the modular way weaves the various functions together organically.

The three-container structure allows for easy stacking, with one above and two below; one below serves as a two-car garage and the other serves as a kitchen and living area.

Due to its good privacy, the upper container is used as a bedroom and bathroom with a comfortable box-top terrace.

In the modeling, the use of cantilevered, interspersed, virtual and real changes and other means to make the building lighter and more flexible.

Because of the characteristics of low-carbon, low-cost, short construction time, disassembly and transportation, container construction can maximize its structural advantages. In the course of the design, the designers, through the modular transformation and combination of containers and other ways, repeatedly think and modify, integrating the diversity of landscape and architectural spatial structure, plus the vivid colors and green environment of the containers, it gives a sense of space and warmth.

#02

“Looks and functions co-exist ranch container residential.”

Located in a secluded ranch in Mexico's Primavera Forest, the project uses a borrowed-view approach to create a large-scale central landscape that encloses the interior. Blend with nature to create an immersive landscape experience.

The idea of using the container as the main structure was born out of the client's desire to build a stacked building. The house is made up of four HIGH CUBE containers, which are arranged in a two-by-two manner. The circular offset forms two terraces, forming a single-character structure with a total area of about 120m2.

Since the ranch is far from the city and has no access to the sewage network, two separate sewage treatment containers were installed. Each container has a full bathroom for guests to use.

In the functional area of the overall container is divided into two floors, one floor is the living area, including the living room, kitchen, bathroom, laundry, bedroom with a bathroom, etc.

On the second floor is a personalized private space with a lobby gallery, studios, terraces and a double height living and dining room.

The concise function area division makes the work and the Life Perfect Union, while fully utilizes the space to satisfy the life need.

The container uses chestnut yellow and lilac collocation, the bright color has the positive effect to reduce the metal wall interior overheating.

Because the building is made up of containers as the main structure, the extensions of the spaces, such as the terrace modules, have been set to universal dimensions so that they can be reused in different layouts or elsewhere.

#03

“Multi-container entertainment and leisure space”

Kontenerart is an entertainment and cultural public space in the center of Poznan, near Warta.

Built between the historic old gas plant and the popular“Wartostrada” bike path, the space is one of the city's most popular summer getaways.

Kontenerart is an initiative to launch the rehabilitation of the Boznan Riverside area. A new project was created in 2019 with the main idea of using recovery containers to ensure the possibility of rapid construction and demolition using mobile recovery materials.

To this end, the project used 23 containers, including a meeting room and a gallery, music and studio, food store, office, warehouse, and toilet.

Between the warehouses, there is a stage for concerts and artistic events. The area is enclosed in wooden boxes with seating and shading fabric.

The overall arrangement is designed to create a safe internal space alongside the busy bike lanes. A large tree grows in the center of the space and creates a wooden platform with seats and tables around it.

The roof of the container is designed as a 300 square metre wooden terrace overlooking the river, the cathedral and the eastern part of the city. The staircase leading to the terrace is designed as a grandstand facing the stage.

Bright colors have a positive effect on reducing overheating inside metal walls.

The main entrance is a“Gate” that is dominated by height and is clearly visible from the beach and bike path. On the southern side of the second entrance, the area is narrower and more private, revealing an arrangement of woody forms covered with greenery.

All other elements, such as the terrace module, the area's path, which allows people to move on wheelchairs or railings, have been designed to a certain universal size, so that they can be reused in different layouts or elsewhere.

Despite being a temporary space made up of recycled containers, Kontenerart has become an integral part of the city's panorama.

#04

Container Student Activity Centre

The Cafe Infinity Student Centre is located in the School of ITS dentistry, Greater Noida. It aims to provide a place for students, staff and the general public to relax and enjoy themselves.

To design a sustainable building structure as a goal, to challenge the traditional architectural thinking, and try to break through the existing design and architectural form of stereotypes. The use of recycled transport containers as the main sustainable construction materials, with its excellent modular characteristics and economic feasibility has become the core focus of the design.

The architects designed two coffee promotion spots in the front of the student center, as well as two staircases that serve as large outdoor resting steps and access to the roof terrace.

The architects also placed basic services, including toilets, in a central container, and used the remaining space to provide seating for faculty and visitors.

The orientation of the seats is set to face the courtyard to provide the best view of the inner courtyard.

In addition, this central inner courtyard can also provide a variety of sports and recreational activities for the college.

The new organic landscape plan brings a certain degree of activation to the original rigid layout of the site and the rigid lines of the containers and provides a dynamic flow line for the Student Center. The large terrace staircase is a rigid container building and the external landscape integration.

Overall, the external landscape of the student center, while balancing the industrial feel of the container building, also provides a rich space and space for various activities, thus making the site full of life and vitality.

The south-facing façade is designed with louvers to provide good public privacy and views while minimizing the thermal absorption of the space.

The Learning Centre was named Cafe Infinity in the hope of emphasising the container building and its infinite possibilities beyond the confines of the site and the type of building. This flexible, modular and sustainable approach to construction makes the container building a major alternative to existing reinforced concrete structures. It would not only reduce existing CO2 emissions but would also be an ideal response to economic and ecological sustainability.