Shipping Container Miner’s Hotel in Chilean Desert Capped With Huge Canvas Roof

The now infamous Chilean Mines are located in the country's northern Atacama Desert -- one of the most inhospitable places on earth for life. Our demand for energy and minerals keeps growing, so finding a way to inhabit one of the driest and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/north-chilean-mines-will-soon-be-powered-by-the-sun/">sunniest places on earth</a> was the challenge presented to <a href="http://aata.cl/?p=125&amp;lang=en&amp;sh1=Industrial-post&amp;sh2=proyectos1">AATA Architects</a> when they were asked to design a low-cost but effective shelter for miners. Their solution was to create a large apartment complex out of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/shipping-containers-used-for-employee-housing-in-dubai-desert/">shipping containers</a> and drape the entire campus with canvas to protect it from the region's relentless sunshine.

The unique solution was based on clustering <a href="http://inhabitat.com/architecture/prefab-housing/">prefabricated</a> shipping containers to form housing pods. Six units per pod were stacked two units high and then connected to each other in a 'C' formation that allows natural ambient light in but blocks extreme temperatures during warm days and cold nights.

Five containers are for sleeping and one is a dedicated restroom. In all, 16 pods can house 320 people.

The huge canvas roof is the key to the design's success. Set on steel trusses, it creates a micro climate that<a href="http://inhabitat.com/modern-mali-urban-park-complex-made-in-the-shade-with-local-stone/"> </a><a href="http://inhabitat.com/farestudioss-inspiring-womens-clinic-in-west-africa/">tempers </a>the harsh environment.

The roof provides ample protection from the sun in one of the hottest and driest places on the planet, and it also encourages<a href="http://inhabitat.com/flowing-medellin-sports-coliseum-keeps-its-cool-with-a-laser-cut-facade/"> cross breezes</a> while blocking harsh winds.

The roof also helps keep heat from radiating out at night -- the project is situated approximately 1,500 meters above sea level so the evenings get cold.

The design works so well that patches of grass were placed at each pod, providing a humble but critical micro climate in one of the most extreme places on the planet.