R.I. Students Turn Shipping Containers into Shelter
By SHEANA LIVINGSTONE/ecoRI News contributor
You've probably driven by these and wondered, 'What the heck is that?' Now you know. (Sheana Livingstone/ecoRI News contributor)PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island School of Design is working collaboratively with the Rhode Island Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RI-CIE) at Brown University to form Project Re-Box. Joe Haskett of Distill Studios and Peter Gill Case of Truth Box Architects have come together to design and develop sustainable “off-the-grid” housing by means of project Re-Box.
Project Re-Box is the effort to re-use and utilize out-of-commission steel shipping containers while tackling practical issues such as affordable sustainable housing, demand reduction, economic growth and energy consumption. With $150,000 in federal funding and a team of RISD students working in the Re-Box studio, ideas are coming together to design sustainable structures.
The concept behind Project Re–Box is based off the Box Office building. The Box Office was created in fall 2008 by Haskett and Case. Their purpose was to save their construction company by designing a building that would thrive under poor economic conditions. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., advocated and applauded their work when he commented that the Box Office is "ingenious and clever and I salute you both. It is incredible.”
During the official unveiling of Project Re-Box at the RISD museum, Haskett and Case told the crowd that the Box Office is “the most energy efficient building around. ... It has cut energy cost by two-thirds over a typical office building and the solar array will produce half of the buildings annual energy needs.” Through the collaborative efforts from RISD and RI-CIE, along with the recent federal funding secured by Reed, Haskett and Case intend on continuing to develop off-the-grid designs with Project Re-Box.
Project Re-Box’s development is housed in RISD’s Re-Box studio, which includes professors Joseph Dean and Marcus Berger, director Brendon McNally and a class of 16 RISD students. They are working on ideas on how to design, develop and utilize steel shipping containers. If their ideas are approved, RI-CIE will assist in finding the best avenues to bring their ideas to market. “There is a need for a new creative, inclusive, innovative, non-adversarial and comprehensive re–thinking of how we humans do things," Dean said. "This is the thrust of the Re–Box studio and this partnership.”
Dean and Berger’s students completed their first Re-Box mid-term last month, which officially kicked off the first of three phases of the project. The students are working independently on projects in the RISD Re-Box studio, and their ideas range from urban farms that would grow fruits and vegetables to mobile classrooms and highway rest stops. One student is developing a slow-moving non-destination train that would allow communities the opportunity to move through and observe the landscape. Another student has designed “The Can," a mobile and “off-the-grid” bathroom that would compost organic waste and re-define the on-the-road bathroom experience.
Other students are working on emergency disaster drop-off containers that would be shipped by helicopter to areas in need. These temporary communities would include first-aid buildings, schools and small housing units. Other students are working on ideas for mobile class rooms, a library/bookshop, low-income housing, student housing, student-run art venues and a hotel with retail space that would float on a barge and have the ability to be used in different areas.
Through RISD’s and RI-CIE’s partnership and Re-Box’s innovative approach to re-using steel shipping containers, everyday objects are creating affordable sustainable housing. These students are addressing critical issues such as recycling, energy consumption, sustainability and community organization, which, according to Reed are "essential to our economic vitality, our international competitiveness, and our long term success as a nation.”
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 4:48PM Tweet
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