[Amazing] Floating Shipping Container Home
Flexible, floating, and undeniably cool, the mobile Urban Rigger units offer waterfront
living at a fraction of the normal cost. BIG’s 680-square-meter modular design comprises
nine stacked shipping container units organized in a circle to frame a centralized winter
garden and common area. Each modular shipping container dorm houses 12 students, who have
their own bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, but also have access to a 160-square-meter
common green courtyard, kayak landing, bathing platform, barbecue area, and 65-square-meter
communal roof terrace. To meet carbon neutral status, the floating
dorms are powered by solar energy and a hydro-based heat-exchange system that draws on seawater
as a natural source of heat. NASA-developed aerogel is used to insulate the interiors,
while Grundfos energy-saving pumps are installed for wastewater, heating, circulation, and
drinking water. Urban Rigger says the shipping containers, made entirely of Corten Steel,
are upcycled to save on materials, energy, and cost. According to Fast Company, each
energy-efficient shipping container dormitory is manufactured at a Polish shipyard for $700
to $800 per square foot. Urban Rigger has already begun plans to build
their next 24-unit project in Sweden and is fielding requests from North America. But
the success of the startup will depend on the willingness of cities to open up their
waterfront properties to the affordable floating dwellings. Fortunately, the company and Ingels
are optimistic. “We might be in a situation where the goodwill of addressing an issue
that is important to the government means that we’d get some access to the key waterfront
sites under their control,” Ingels told Fast Company. The architect also sees potential
in the experimental model for future applications in refugee housing and his firm even has plans
of building Urban Rigger housing for their interns.