Eco Architecture: The Greentainer Project – Greening a shipping container for multiple uses

Anupam JollyNov 14 2008

Eco Factor: Recycled multipurpose shipping container.

Shipping containers are not a new ingredient in green architecture. Earlier we saw the shipping container hotel and the Push Button house made from shipping containers, and now we have an even greenere container project called the “Greentainer Project.”

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The project makes use of a standard 40-foot container with an interior height of 2.7 meters and a useful life of 5 years before being scrapped. Unlike other architectures that use shipping containers, the designers here wanted to keep the benefits of shipping containers intact. These refurbished containers can be easily transported on container haulers and are suitable for multiple uses and destinations from a mobile canteen to a trade show.

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The container has been equipped with roof-top solar panels that supply all the energy necessary to run the heating-cooling systems, lights and other electronics that are a part of the project. The walls are replaced with glass so that the visitor never feels that he is inside a building. The floor has been covered with synthetic grass that adds a touch of green.

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The Dark Side:

Though the container looks awesome at first sight, the use of synthetic grass has pulled things down for the project. Moreover, the use of glass means that the container will require more cooling during the day for which we don’t think that the solar panels would be enough.

Via: ExposureArchitects

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