Architecture

Shipping containers floated as the next BIG thing in student housing

Shipping containers floated as the next BIG thing in student housing
Urban Rigger comprises nine recycled shipping containers arranged on a floating base
Urban Rigger comprises nine recycled shipping containers arranged on a floating base
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Urban Rigger comprises nine recycled shipping containers arranged on a floating base
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Urban Rigger comprises nine recycled shipping containers arranged on a floating base
Few students get to boast that they live in starchitect-designed housing
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Few students get to boast that they live in starchitect-designed  housing
Inside, the containers look spacious, light-filled, and really quite attractive
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Inside, the containers look spacious, light-filled, and really quite attractive
The floorspace is split between housing, a common winter garden/courtyard, kayak landing point, bathing platform, BBQ area, and seating
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The floorspace is split between housing, a common winter garden/courtyard, kayak landing point, bathing platform, BBQ area, and seating
One container has a green roof, another has a solar panel array, and the third sports a meeting space
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One container has a green roof, another has a solar panel array, and the third sports a meeting space
The containers are lined with a highly-insulating aerogel developed by NASA
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The containers are lined with a highly-insulating aerogel developed by NASA
The nine containers are stacked atop each other and rest on a floating base
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The nine containers are stacked atop each other and rest on a floating base
Rent works out at around US$600 per month
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Rent works out at around US$600 per month
Inside a container apartment
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Inside a container apartment
The shipping containers boast large floor-to-ceiling windows
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The shipping containers boast large floor-to-ceiling windows
Inside one of the container apartments
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Inside one of the container apartments
The project measures 680 sq m (7,319 sq ft)
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The project measures 680 sq m (7,319 sq ft)
Urban Rigger team hopes to export the housing prototype to other areas around the world
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Urban Rigger team hopes to export the housing prototype to other areas around the world
Electricity is produced by a roof-based solar array
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Electricity is produced by a roof-based solar array
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Though the Bjarke Ingels Group appears to be increasingly associated with, well, big projects like the impressive courtscraper, it's most recently-completed build is on a much smaller scale. The Danish firm used recycled shipping containers to produce a sustainable floating housing prototype for Copenhagen students that it hopes to replicate elsewhere.

The Copenhagen Urban Rigger project comprises nine recycled shipping containers arranged on a floating base in the city's harbor. There's a total of 680 sq m (7,319 sq ft) of floorspace, split between housing, a common winter garden/courtyard, kayak landing point, bathing platform, BBQ area, and seating.

In addition, the student housing includes a communal roof terrace and a basement level with 12 storage rooms, laundry room, and technical room.

Inside, the container apartments look spacious, light-filled, and really quite attractive, certainly a lot more appealing to live in than many of the rundown brick-and-mortar student digs that dot our cities. The simple furnishings and use of unfinished wood contrast well with the large floor-to-ceiling windows that enable residents to gaze upon the harbor.

Inside, the containers look spacious, light-filled, and really quite attractive
Inside, the containers look spacious, light-filled, and really quite attractive

One obvious concern is insulation. It's something we've brought up before with shipping container architecture, but it's a real Achilles heel for such projects, and living in what's essentially a metal box on the water in the cold Copenhagen winter could prove a grim experience indeed. To address this, BIG lined the containers with a highly-insulating aerogel developed by NASA.

Aside from the environmental benefit of recycling shipping containers, the Urban Rigger project is green in other ways, too. Electricity is produced by a roof-based solar array, while a heat exchanger system uses the seawater it floats on to efficiently heat and cool the interiors.

Monthly rent works out at the equivalent of US$600 and BIG and Urban Rigger (the student housing startup that commissioned the project) aim to refine the prototype and export it to other cities. A 24-unit project is planned for Sweden next, and there's even the possibility that it could be adapted to serve as housing for refugees.

Sources: BIG, Urban Rigger

View gallery - 14 images
3 comments
3 comments
Chizzy
Nice design. I think it would be just as useful in a non floating location.
lat1865
I would love to see these used and designed in a modular format, bolted to a concrete slab, using the Vietnam war era waterproof munitions containers, in order to withstand hurricane and flooding. A good way for older folks to live together separately and yet still take care of each other on inexpensive land with off grid electricity. That's a non floating application.
Martin Hone
Are these containers on their sides ? Seem quite wide for a regular container. Also, instead of the expense of the Aerogel insulation, why not just use the High Cube insulated containers ?