From cafes to small vacation cabins, malls to hotels and skyscrapers; everyone seems to be using recycled freight containers for making green buildings. Architects are gradually turning towards these strong, cheap transport boxes, available in plenty, as building blocks for their green buildings. The advent in green technologies have given wings to the creative minds of these architects allowing them to propose designs that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also environmentally friendly.
The e-CORRE complex, The Environmental Center of Regenerative Research and Education, is one such green building proposal designed by APHIDoIDEA design group, based in downtown Los Angeles. It is proposed for the port city, Long Beach in California, considered to have one of the busiest ports in the world. The project proposal is one of the finalists at the Emerging Talent Design Competition hosted by USGBC, Los Angeles and AIA-LA.
The design team from APHIDoIDEA has utilized the shipping containers as the core building material for the environmental center. Merely constructing a green building is not sufficient, it is also important that people understand and perform “green building practices” which include water collection, interior daylighting, rooftop gardens, passive cooling techniques, reuse of gray water and more. Keeping this in mind, the team has also provided an area in the building, which can be used to educate the visitors and users on such important matters.
The e-CORRE complex architecture has utilized an approximate of 65 shipping containers. The complex has an open public plaza on the ground level along with a hall for exhibitions and an outdoor amphitheater. It also includes classrooms for learning and offices for the supporting staff involved in teaching.
The classrooms are mainly aimed at teaching the community about the valuable strategies of sustainable green living. The design proposal for the e-CORRE complex by APHIDoIDEA meets most of the design requirements of the Emerging Talent Design Competition, 2011 and has emerged as one of the winners. Thus, it is a perfect example of aesthetically pleasant green building, which can be used as a place to meet, learn and collaborate.
Via: Evolo
