5 Things to Consider in a Shipping Container Conversion
A Lightweight Chill Out Container Home in Dhaka
A new shipping container home has been built for a family looking for a suburban escape in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka.
Dhaka floods
Dhaka, like much of the country, is on the lowlands and is frequently hit by floods, even at the early stages of Climate Change. This has created a substrate on which the city lies that can make it quite difficult to construct big buildings on.
The English language Daily Star Bangladesh newspaper reported, “When inspecting the site, they quickly realized that the ground would not be able to withstand the weight of a building, and instead, had to think of a structure that would require less piling or footing; something lightweight.”
Shipping container constructions don’t need much in the way of foundations – even for permanent buildings. They can have short concrete pilings and / or a reasonably thin concrete pad on which to sit the construction. For muddy floodplain substrates that would otherwise require very deep underpinnings to reach bedrock, this means that you have a wider choice of construction than using other materials.
River & Rain architect Kazi Fida spoke to the Daily Star, “It’s not that I haven’t ever heard of the concept of using containers but it was like a light went off. We quickly came up with sketches and wasted no time in pitching the idea. Tanjim Haque was on board instantaneously!”
The Escape Den: A beautiful and spacious bungalow…
The Escape Den is featured on Airbnb which states, “Escape Den is a beautiful and spacious bungalow that overlooks the beautiful nature of Dhaka. It provides a ‘weekend getaway’ feel, while being in a perfect place to watch a nice sunset while sipping on a refreshment or simply have a peaceful breakfast.”
Image source: River and Rain
Entering the plot, hidden by bamboo hedging, you leave the hustle and bustle of city life behind and enter an oasis of calm in the large front garden. The home itself is set back, well away from the sounds and smells of city life beyond its hedges.
Built over three levels, it has an open plan kitchen / dining area on the ground floor with glass doors enabling real connection to the outside. It is built around a tree to add that idea of natural connection – a staircase is wrapped around that for you to climb between floors. It really does appear to be a bolthole that is encapsulated in its name – the Escape Den.
Image source: AirBnB
Container benefits celebrated
The Daily Star again: Fida said, “We wanted to preserve the containers in their original state and not cover them up and hide the stories they had to tell from their travels by sea.” Rather than hide them, the architects chose to celebrate the past lives of the containers, giving a modern, industrial look to the home while maintaining a rustic feel.
As well as the lightness of the structure that allows it to float on the muddy substrate, the home only took seven months to put together from empty site, to completely fitted out. For a large family bolthole this is very quick. This is peculiar to container home construction – like Lego bricks it is possible to build a home extremely quickly indeed.
Gateway Container Sales
Given the advantages of the shipping container as a building block described here, you too may want to build your own container based home. Just give us a call today to discuss your needs and we will help you get your project off the ground.
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