Shipping container buildings may be cool — but they're not always green
Shipping containers may seem like a sustainable construction material, but are they actually eco-friendly? Many people don't want a heavily-used container — and the energy bills are through the roof.
Millions — perhaps tens of millions — of shipping containers are sitting empty at ports all over the world. And they've been a treasure trove for architects Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano.
"We found so many — it felt like something so ripe to pick, basically," said Lignano. He and Tolla were in San Francisco recently for the opening of an art exhibition at Hosfelt Gallery focused on their use of shipping containers as building material and art project.
The Italian of shipping containers being converted into housing was 1987.)
