Tuesday, May 13, 2008
David Byrne Is A Prophet...
"I believe that the metal box is the Architecture of the future."-- David Byrne, "True Stories"(1986)
I've seen this coming, when BoingBoing.net showed a haute-equipped container. i never figured that it would scale-up so quickly... and in DETROIT of all places.... I see the FailBoat setting sail.
via Mish ShedlockDiscarded containers have been stacking up at ports. They are cheaper to build new than to return to their country of origin, so they have been piling up by the thousands.
Now a Detroit condo project hopes to put discarded containers to use.
The idea of putting people in empty shipping containers hardly evokes images of stylish urban living. But a Detroit-based group hopes to use empty shipping containers to build one of the most unusual -- and certainly one of the most innovative -- residential projects in southeast Michigan.
The project would stack empty containers four high, cut in windows and doors, install plumbing, stairways and heating, and add amenities such as balconies and landscaped patios.
If it wins city approvals, the 17-unit condominium project could break ground this fall and open near Wayne State University in 2009. Steven Flum, a Detroit-based architect who designed the project, said it solves several problems at once, including the need to build environmentally sensitive buildings cheaply. The project is going to cost about $1.8 million, about 25% less than a normal condo project of similar quality would run.
The partners plan to build their prototype on the southeast corner of Rosa Parks and Warren, on lots now vacant or containing burned-out homes. They call their project "Exceptional Green Living on Rosa Parks."
The project will offer condominium units measuring 960 to 1,920 square feet. Prices will range from about $100,000 to around $190,000.
With the enormous glut of homes for sale, in foreclosure, offered by Bank, there is no need for excess container homes in Detroit. If I were still a Michigander, I'd be balking about the terrible insulation value of steel as a dwelling material shell in Michigan Winters. What the hell are these people thinking?
Interesting idea. Seems geographically limited by climate control expense problems.
But, the road goes on forever, and the party never ends...
Hey Now... Performed by Talking Heads and the St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary School Chorus. With the Great, Late Spalding Gray as the Developer.
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