CARGOTECTURE

CARGOTECTURE Cargotecture is a term used to describe the design of large cargo shipping containers for housing, www.inhabitat.com 'Upcycling' , as defined by www.wikipedia.org is 'a component of sustainability in which waste materials are used to provide new products.' The 'new product' in this case is sustainable housing built out of shipping containers.

Shipping containers are often used only once, as it is more expensive to re-use them. It is also unattractive, as well as costly to keep a warehouse dump for these containers. Imagine the size of the park a city could have where a warehouse dump would have been?

Shipping containers, when converted, are specifically designed for basic needs. In the www.group41inc.com descriptive video, they used the term 'basic susistence' . This term is often used when referring to circumstances of poverty housing. However, these converted containers are more than your average portable. They are equipped with photovoltaic solar panels to provide electricity as well as a rooftop rainwater cistern. Some feature shelving that folds up into the wall.

How did they think of this? Joel Karr of Group 41 in San Francisco, has involved himself in shipping containers for fifteen years, starting with his work in Japan using shipping containers to house trash and convert the methane for energy. From his work with sustainable design he created this design. www.containernation is another web-site to check out Joel's and Group 41's upcycled shipping containers.

The need for housing the homeless, emergency medical facilities, even extended family would be helped on a global scale by this cargotecture trend. In fact, Group 41 has entered and been accepted as a competitor with their upcycled design, in the Google's 10 to the 100th competition, where the goal is to find an innovation that 'helps as many people as possible', for more on the contest, check out www.project10tothe100.com.