This simple shipping container became the latest trendy tread shop to hit the streets last week in NYC’s Meatpacking District, right under the Highline Park. The Siki Im concept store is skinned in soy-based foam and features funky walls made from spray-on expanding polyurethane. The interior takes on a decidedly sculptural approach by projecting shapes from the walls and showcasing a room with a sloping floor. Leong Leong‘s avant-garde space is also a green highlight in design, given its nod to reuse and eco-friendly materials.
Siki Im, a men’s fashion company, opened its stores just last week as part of a collaborative series between fashion designers and architects dubbed Building Fashion. The project has been described as a place of gathering and a venue to discover Siki Im’s clothing. Simple novelties like a little hide-and-seek and a spontaneous slide keep the overall design aesthetic and ambiance light.
The foam was sprayed on each the interior, exterior and the ground outside, and visitors are required to remove their shoes before entry. The closed cell foam uses a soy based binder, which contains an r-6 per inch when applied. The space was originally used as the sales office for the Leong Leong designed HL23 apartment building.
If you are considering modular or prefab home, or looking for an alternative to high cost construction, building with recycled shipping containers is worth taking a look at. There are many considerations that have contributed to the appeal of building with intermodal shipping containers – availability, standardization, the recycled/green factor, economy and speed of construction, their durability, and even their “elegance/grace”.
Good resource is the Residential Shipping Container Primer website. A SHOWCASE OF SHIPPING CONTAINER HOMES AND BUILDINGDS, AND A DO IT YOURSELF (DIY) REFERENCE FOR CONVERTING RECYCLED INTERMODAL CARGO SHIPPING CONTAINERS INTO BUILDINGS AND ARCHITECTURE.
Lots of great example buildings, details, facts, and links to other articles. They have something new that you can setup your own project wiki to get help with your project if you are considering a design build project.
http://www.ResidentialShippingContainerPrimer.com