TRANSported Transforms Shipping Containers into Green-Walled Artist Habitats in NYC [PHOTOS]

If you could hardly "contain" yourself (sorry) when you saw the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/south-street-seaport-shipping-container-beer-garden-smorgasbar-and-shops-are-now-open-for-business/">shipping container food hall and beer garden</a> that recently popped up at Southstreet Seaport, you'll love <a href="http://www.newmuseum.org/ideascity/view/transported">TRANSported</a>, an art installation that graced Brookfield Place Plaza last month. Commissioned by <a href="http://www.artsbrookfield.com/">Arts Brookfield</a>, the riverfront public exhibition parked two 20-ft-long shipping containers right outside the former World Financial Center and filled them with thought-provoking art based on the theme of “Untapped Capital.” Inhabitat explored the containers and all that they had to offer including a vertical garden, solar energy harvesting, a coin-minting station and interactive crafts. Click through <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/transported-transforms-shipping-containers-into-green-walled-artist-habitats-in-nyc-photos/transported-container-10/">our gallery</a> to see what we discovered.

TRANSported was curated by Amy Lipton of <a href="http://ecoartspace.blogspot.com/">ecoartspace</a>, a nonprofit arts organization, as part of the <a href="http://www.newmuseum.org/">New Museum</a>’s <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/ideas-city-festival-returns-to-the-bowery-this-weekend/">IDEAS CITY Festival 2013</a>.

"My title, TRANSported, refers to the area's shipping history but also to the way that Tender and Art Pac-­Kit will visually transport viewers into alternative realities, inspiring new ways of thinking," said Lipton.

"TRANSported will provide a meeting place for developing new methodologies, new solutions, and new goals for taking advantage of underutilized resources ranging from people and raw materials to ideas and networks."

Hudson Valley-based <a href="http://habitatforartists.org/">Habitat For Artists</a> outfitted one of the two containers into Art Pac-Kit, a vibrant artists' workshop and retreat.

The exterior of the habitat was decked out with a green wall, PV panels, a rainwater collection system, a small rooftop garden and a public message board that was populated with notes by visitors.

Inside, artists were invited to create new artworks and explore the relationship between art and themes like energy, conservation, sustainability and food.

A wheelbarrow filled with greeted guests outside of Art-Pac Kit.

A closer look at Art-Pac Kit's green wall.

Much of Art-Pac Kit was made of recycled or salvaged materials.

Artist Seth Kinmont, the occupant of the other shipping container, translated the idea of "Untapped Capital" in a much more literal fashion.

Called <a href="http://www.newmuseum.org/ideascity/view/transported-seth-kinmont-s-tender">TENDER</a>, the installation was centered around a printing press and coin striker that minted a special currency.

Visitors had the chance to purchase either a coin or a bill for $1 each, and each piece of currency also acted as a lottery ticket with a chance of winning the artwork. In this way, the worth of each coin or bill went from fixed to fluid, speaking to our fluctuating idea of value and how it is generated.

TRANSported closed on May 31, 2013, but if you didn't get to see it in person, flip through <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/transported-transforms-shipping-containers-into-green-walled-artist-habitats-in-nyc-photos/transported-container-10/">our photo gallery</a> to see what you missed.