Stacked Shipping Container Medical Complex in Sudan

You know how much we love <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/01/22/container-city-in-mexico-is-entertainment-hot-spot/">shipping container architecture</a> here at Inhabitat, and we get especially excited about <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/02/26/dominican-authorities-approve-of-container-cities-for-haiti-housing-relief/">buildings that contribute to the greater good of an area or community</a>. Well, we couldn't have found a more shining example of that than this <a href="http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/9349/tam-architecture-container-medical-complex-for-the-salam-centre.html">beautiful medical complex in Soba, Sudan</a>. The breezy complex sits right near the Nile river around a courtyard of mango trees, and is constructed of discarded 90 ft x 20 ft containers taken right from the construction site of the adjacent <a href="http://www.salamcentre.emergency.it/">Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery</a>.

Designed by Italian firm, <a href="http://www.tamassociati.org/PAGES/archituttiEN.html">Tam Architecture</a>, the idea for the complex was conceived when the architects noticed the leftover containers lying around the construction site and wanted to reuse them.

Using them to provide the international staff of the cardiac center with a place to stay seemed like the perfect opportunity.

The <a href="http://www.tamassociati.org/PAGES/CNT1.html">housing units</a> are 20 sqm and consist of a bedroom, a bathroom and a small veranda on the court side.

There is also a cafeteria which is made out of smaller 7 ft x 40 ft containers.

In addition to being fabricated out of shipping containers that were already at the site (no extra fuel costs or shipping emissions!), Tam took extra measures to make the complex <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/energy">energy</a>-efficient. The containers are insulated with a layer system: 5 cm insulating panels on the inside and a second insulated roof and a bamboo brise soleil panel system on the outside, meaning that the sun's rays never make contact with the containers.

<a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/solar-power">Solar panels</a> supply hot water for the compound and an air conditioning system that utilizes photovoltaic panels and chilling machines has been tested for the complex.