Projects
Container Housing
This innovative mixed-use project in Boston repurposes as many as sixty shipping containers to create 22 condonimium units and 5,000-square feet of retail space. The shipping containers are fit-up and finished off-site, and stacked like building blocks to form the walls, ceiling and floors of the living spaces. Container doors are fixed open to create balconies.
Shipping containers are an excellent building material because they are designed to carry heavy loads and can be stacked in columns. Using the containers will lower the material costs of the project and reduce on-site construction time. It will also keep the containers from being sent to a landfill, a plus for the environment.
There’s an additional upside—shipping containers have aesthetic appeal. “Our design has an edgy, post-industrial feel,” project designer Eric Nelson says. “We think it’s a great fit with the neighborhood which is itself transitioning from industrial to urban use.”
An Engine of Growth
Not far from the Sullivan Square T stop, the site runs along Washington Street, a main thoroughfare on the Somerville-Boston line. It borders a residential community on one side and a light industrial zone on the other. While the neighborhood is busy with pedestrians and cars, most traffic flows through on the way somewhere else. One of the project goals is to create an inviting urban atmosphere that will encourage people to slow down and spend some time in the neighborhood.
The proposed façade along Washington Street features a gallery of retail space that would attract both residents and those who work in the area. The building is designed to provide a strong unified street front, inviting passersby to stroll and shop.
The traffic created by the new retail shops and condos would serve as an economic engine for the surrounding community, spurring additional growth and redevelopment.
Green Elements
Plans for the development call for LEED (New Construction) certification. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a nationally recognized green building rating system. “In short, LEED certification means the building is a healthy place to live and work,” Nelson explains. “It is the new standard of excellence in construction.”
Green strategies incorporated in the design include:
- Native landscaping, pervious pavement, and green roofs to manage storm water runoff and reduce urban heat island effect.
- Low water use plumbing fixtures.
- “Recycling” the existing parking lot by building on and around it, which avoids the environmental costs of excavating a new underground lot. Proximity to public transportation minimizes the number of required spaces.
- Bicycle and stroller parking to encourage residents to leave their cars at home.
- Modest unit size and a highly insulating building envelope to minimize energy use.
- Energy-efficient appliances, heating and supplemental cooling systems.
- Oversized “loft” windows for views, ventilation, and passive solar heating. Sophisticated façade design, including sun shading and light shelves, takes advantage of seasonal changes in the position of the sun to make units comfortable and bright year round.
- An open lobby stair to encourage able-bodied residents to walk.
- The celebrated use of a variety of recycled, renewable materials.
“The trick with this project was not only to achieve an ambitious list of green goals, but to make it sympathetic with the developers’ concerns while addressing a significant urban agenda,” Nelson says. “I think we’ve achieved a great balance.”
This scheme is one of several we developed for this parcel. Our clients used the schematic drawings to present different development ideas to investors.
