Shipping containers and the aid industry

by Jon Thompson on October 13, 2008

www.hybridseattle.com

www.hybridseattle.com

No that I have purged most of the vitriol from my system I thought I should start talking about what I see as a solution and stop focusing on what I consider to be the problems.  Recently, I have become fascinated by the advancements coming out of the world of shipping containers specifically the ability to convert standard ISO containers into temporary housing, power, and medical facilities.  For me this is the next frontier in technological advancement for the aid industry.

There is an incredible amount of info out there but it is best to start with this video which shows construction of a container based house start to finish and the use of an incredible ceramic insulative paint called SuperTherm.  SuperTherm can add an R20 rating to any surface with the spray on application of only a few millimeters of product. Click the image to be taken to the video page:

By combining SuperTherm with closed cell polyurethane spray insulation a shipping container can easily be converted into a comfortable lab or medical center for use in extreme climates.  One of my first jobs was building a tuberculosis clinic in the Afar region of Ethiopia, one of the hottest places on earth.  It probably would have been more economical and efficient to purchase a pre-fab lab (had we had this technology back then), ship it to Djibouti, one of the largest ports in East Africa, and truck it a few hours up the road to our location.  Outfitted with solar panels we could have been running samples within a few hours rather than spending months building the clinic.  Construction slowed dramatically between 11 and 3pm when temperatures reached over 110F.

Given that just about everything we do involves the use of shipping containers there is no lack of opportunity to work pre-fab units into our system.  When you compare such an option as an alternative to the sometimes incredibly frustrating task of building a standard structure on site shipping container clinics and labs might prove preferbale in a number of instances.  One non-profit, Global Peace Containers, already runs programs in Jamaica utilizing containers for schools, health clinics and housing.

I’ll stop here and leave you with a few links to check out:

ISBU News – http://www.isbu-info.org/

Container Bay – http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/containerbayhome.htm

Shipping Container Homes – http://www.containerhomes-info.com/

{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Anonymous at

Leave a Comment