ISBU High Cube

All housing designs start out with the basic ISBU unit.  The RHEMIDI Project designs employ 40ft High Cube units to insure plenty of headway for even the tallest of military personal.  A High Cube is a type of ISBU, that like other containers is 8ft wide and comes in several different lengths but instead of 8ft, it is 9.6ft in height.  The model seen in all RHEMIDI designs is from RevitCity, an online community where once a member one can download projects and families other members have created and uploaded.  Revit software comes with a datebase of components but many components a user may not find; RevitCity can save time and effort by being able to share the components other users create.

40ft x 8ft x 9.6ft Grey High Cube Revit Container 

                                              (L x W x H)

 ^Bottom^

In all views of the model the containers top is removed (as seen below), this is because to design inside the unit and the components be visible the roof needed to be removed.

To see the complete designs for each model click on one of the links below or see the links under Pages to the left:

TASCOH Model

TABS Model

SCHEMA Model

Building Information Modeling

First off, let me start by saying I know about Computer-Aided Design (CAD), I have been using various forms since I was in seventh grade, and have become fairly proficient.  I started in SolidEdge, which is now called SolidWorks, and then upon entering drafting courses switched to using AutoCAD then progressed to Inventor.  But Building Information Modeling (BIM) is totally foreign to me; actually it was not until I started researching that I found out that Revit was indeed not CAD software but BIM.

While both CAD and BIM include geometry, the latter also includes a multitude of building information, making BIM a better choice when it comes to designing a building.  BIM is a newer technology in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry that is not only used for design but also management purposes and in construction and operation as well.  The software makes it easy to track a building from the beginning to the end, or its lifecycle, staring in the conceptual stages of development all the way through to demolition. 

Revit

Autodesk Revit is Building Information Modeling (BIM) software that enables architects and engineers alike to model and design more efficiently.  There are currently three main versions of Revit: Autodesk Revit Architecture, Autodesk Revit MEP, and Autodesk Revit Structure.  Autodesk Revit Architecture is primarily for building design and was originally called Revit Building.  Autodesk Revit MEP focuses on the mechanics of the building; this software’s purpose is to help with mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) design with specific tools created with these purposes in mind.  Autodesk Revit Structure allows structural engineers to build and design structures more accurately and efficiently by presenting design tools specific to building structures and using intelligent models.  Autodesk Revit 2013 is a fusion of the above software, Autodesk Revit Architecture, Autodesk Revit MEP, and Autodesk Revit Structure, in one comprehensive package, and will be what I will be using to design in.

Revit products save BIM models using .RVT files; these models are created using parametric objects or 3D objects and 2D objects called families, and can be imported into projects to create a building.  A family file is identified by a category such as furniture, plumbing fixtures, or generic models, and is created and grouped based on the characteristics of said category.  Once completed, families are saved in .RFA files that can be inserted into projects.  Projects are Revit’s equivalent of the Autodesk Inventor assembly file, if you are familiar with Inventor.  A project file cannot be inserted into a family or another project; they are the final model file and are saved in .RVT files.  Simply put, a project is where the building model is assembled with some new creations while families are the components placed in the project.

The Irony of Overlooking

As I started working more and more on this project it became clearer that I was going to need to see a shipping container for myself, so I set out to find one.  At first I looked on the internet for places that sold shipping containers, and there were plenty but there were none too close to home.  Then to make matters worse, the places that were close were only open from seven to four Monday through Friday, and seeing that my school hours are from eight thirty until three thirty this was going to be tough.  I had just decided I would get up early and be waiting down there when they opened at seven one morning, when Mr. Reece (my Technical Manufacturing teacher) opened my eyes.  Mr. Reece asked me if I had seen the shipping containers down by the track—right then it clicked: I didn't have to find a shipping container company I was surrounded by a world of shipping containers.  On my way home that day I saw all the shipping containers I was previously blind to; there were three right one campus and another one in the parking lot at my dad’s office.  All I can say is that it is amazing what you can overlook, when you overlook in the wrong places. 

Possibilities

Container homes are being used for everything from disaster relief to college dormitories and everything in between.  With so many options out there, I thought I could not possibly choose which to design for.  One might have more constraints, more creative freedom, or more specifications; I had to weigh the pros and cons of each choice.  I finally narrowed it down to three options: disaster relief, group homes, or military housing.  Disaster relief was a good option as there is a growing need in this day and age for quick, portable, and cheap relief housing.  I would not have to worry so much about specifications and space would not be as much of an issue, but I would be very limited in my creativity as the design would need to have limited on sight set-up, as well as just being the bare minimum of temporary housing.  Group housing was on the other end of this.  I would have total creative freedom, but would have to worry about specifications, space for multiple persons, and permanent housing.  Military housing was the perfect medium.  It offers me an amount of creative freedom with my design, while still being temporary housing and not having to worry about the small space and the comfort factor.  Though a drawback is the military does have strict specifications I will have to design too, but with further research I found that was a good thing as there is not much other readily available information about container home specifications.

            In proceeding with designing container housing for the military, I needed to pick an area to base my simulation off of; I choose the deserts of Arizona as the climate simulates that of the climates of the Middle East and I can easily get the numbers I need about Arizona.  Arizona was also a good choice as though the days are brutally hot the climate is very arid which suits container living very well.

Here is a mind blowing website about the different uses of shipping containers

http://www.tempohousing.com/projects

What I Know Now… and What I’ll Know Then

Through my years in high school, I have taken many engineering courses and have found that my passion lies within this field; but as engineering encompasses a myriad of categories, I have not even begun to scratch the surface.  I have completed courses in general engineering, engineering drafting, math, and physics, which has given me a good base in engineering, but those have only given me the technical side of engineering. Lately, I have become quite interested in Civil Engineering; therefore I decided to take my endeavor in architecture. I will learn the design principles and concepts behind structures, and integrate my prior knowledge of material testing, 3D analysis, and fundamental engineering principles, to create a project that builds and expanse my horizon of knowledge.

The architecture work and design are a learning stretch for me as I have never done architecture before.  Not only will I be learning to design in different software, Autodesk Revit, but I will be finding a way to get Revit and Inventor to communicate, increasing workflow.  I will also have to do extensive research before the designing is even started.  I will need to learn about insulation and the insulating of homes, and then apply the knowledge to insulating the container, as space requirements do not permit the use of standard housing insulation.  I will also need to learn about housing foundations and come up with one that is suitable for the purpose at hand—considering the landscape being built on, stability, and move-ability   This is just the beginning of what I will need to research, and these are only some of the topics I know that I need to research--who knows what I will find I will learn once I get started!

The Container Housing Project

Many shipping containers are retired to landfills each year to rust, a waste of materials and space.  A growing trend in Europe is re-purposing these old shipping containers as homes, both economical and green use, and I plan to bring this idea to the U.S. 

For my Senior Project, I plan to research and design container housing for military purposes to reach the most efficient use of materials, both economically and environmentally.  Container housing is beneficial to the military as it is efficient to transport with limited assembly and can either be used as storage or lived in on the way to the destination.  The project is a collaboration of three class projects in which each will bring a different element to produce a larger project, with three distinct products: floor plans, a site plan, and a physical model.  To pull off a proficient and useful model will require close attention to detail in the design, organization of space, and introspection of concepts such as insulation and foundation.

Designing container housing for the military not only coincides with my academic studies and career goals, but is an environmentally and economically better way to house troops overseas.  I plan to study Civil Engineering in college and this project will help give me a holistic prospective of this field and the architecture behind it.

The Product Breakdown

Architectural Plans: For my senior project product, I am designing the floor plan of a staff officer’s quarters and the general housing for a squad inside of shipping containers, to maximize function space and minimize cost.  The final design will be created/drawn in Autodesk Revit 2013.

3D Site Plan: In my Technical Manufacturing class with Mr. Reece I am designing a 3D representation of the layout of the military base housing built from the shipping containers in the Revit software.

Physical Model: In my Research Design class with Professor Williams I will build a model of the Site Plan I have created in the previous class.

I am very excited about this project and am looking forward to getting started.  This blog will be a way that not only my teachers, but I, myself, can track my progress throughout this semester and project.