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Shipping Container Housing – Cross Section

Shipping Container Housing – Building Section

This continues my previous post on shipping container housing in Chad. Please take a look at these previous blog postings for an explanation of the design choices involved in creating housing from metal shipping containers in a hot climate .

The section drawing below shows a cross section thru the proposed shipping container housing. As described in the previous posts, the structure consists of two pairs of shipping containers stacked side by side with a stairwell core in between. These containers are lifted into place over a concrete foundation / “daylight basement” structure and a metal roof framing system is installed over the roof to prevent heat buildup from direct sunlight
hitting the structures.

This section also shows how much of the lower sleeping areas is recessed into the ground in order to take advantage of the cooler soil temperatures several feet below the surface. This section also shows the protective shading devices over the windows, as well as the area above the containers which would be vented naturally by a “chimney effect” by the heated area being vented out the sides of the openings just below the upper roof.

Double-click on the drawing for an enlarged view.

Chad-Shipping-Container-Housing_Carl-Colson-Architect1-1024x548

2 Comments

  1. Enoch Sears, AIA /Reply

    Hi Carl, I just found this post of yours and I love it. I’ve always been intrigued by shipping container housing. I would love to incorporate a container into our house somehow.

  2. milton rogers /Reply

    Carl greetings,I am an Australian I live in Brisbane.I am recently introduced to container housing and am impressed by your design for Chad but we live in a temperate climate.I am considering building in Yeppoon
    on the coast near Rockhampton six hunded klms north of Brisbane.
    The local council restricts the minimum internal area to 80sqm
    Two containers with inside walls removed have an internal width of 4.79m
    The internal length of a 40ft container is 12.02×4.79=57.57m2
    The space between would need to be 1.9/2.0m.Is that acceptable.
    There is a need for ventelation above this space.
    Do you have a design that is more compatable with our environment and are plans and specifications available and at what cost
    Regards Milton

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