Adapting Shipping Containers as Temporary Shelters in Terms of Recycling, Sustainability and Green Architecture. Reuse as Accommodation in Egypt.

Abstract

Cargo containers have grown in architecture around the world. They are durable, adaptable, have light weight, ‘low cost’ and ease of stacking, taking many forms such as sculpture, homes, housing, hotels, however , most of their remittances are related to temporary housing needs, such as emergency shelters and mobile shelters. Repurposing cargo containers into structures is a reasonable sustainable practice because of most of the structure originating from reused materials, They have a smaller carbon footprint and create less landfill, also their environmental impact is low in comparison to traditional buildings made with brick and reinforced concrete structure, they require a short time to be erected with an advantage of mobility in case of future extension or moving these structures to different areas or including additional areas or volumes. The standards dimensions of ISO shipping containers make them excellent modular units which have the auxiliary capacity and plan parameters to create standard settlement units in an assortment of ways, it is a complete standard accommodation with its intrinsic quality, waterproof nature and availability, making it an exemplary structural component. Although shipping containers could be one of the solutions of emergency and mobile shelters and not the optimum one, it has less appeal than other building materials which require some adaptation to meet human and user needs and fit in with the context. Shipping containers could be also responsive on community level and provide temporary solutions to a particular shortage. This paper aims to provide an adapting of shipping containers as sustainable, green and recycled solution not only as Architecture but also as collecting and gathering units on site. As an effective study, the paper will examine the adaptation of shipping containers in various international projects in order to highlight the possibility of using Containers architecture in temporary accommodation shelters. This paper therefore, will introduce a new approach of reusing shipping containers as shelters solutions not in a matter of spaces as much as attention to human and community needs within a framework of urban compatibility. One of the paper results is to have a model in the way it could be in the site.