Architect Akash Dudhe believes that shipping containers are a promising building material.
Since 2014, his Mumbai-based firm ‘SAGI Architects’ has been using the boxes in different projects.
One of these is a vocational learning centre in Aurangabad commissioned by ‘Pratham’, an NGO championing educational equity in India.
The centre plays host to workshops and skill-training programmes.
One of the main draws of using shipping containers as a building material is that they can be packed and moved when required.
Another one of SAGI Architects’ projects that features shipping containers is a restaurant in Khopoli, Maharashtra.
It features a 40-foot A-frame silhouette, and the body is made up of shipping containers.
The material is relatively easy to find, and Akash sources it from Mumbai’s Nhava Sheva Port, also known as Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), India's largest container port that handles a significant portion of the country's containerised trade.
But, he cautions that you need to have a meticulous design brief.
One key consideration when working with shipping containers is heat gain from the metal, making insulation crucial.
“Insulation is done in two parts: there is roof insulation and wall insulation. An MS framework is created, filled with rockwool (matted fibre made from rock material) and finished with gypsum sheets,” Akash shares.
You also need to ensure that there is no water seepage happening from the roof.
While gaining acceptance for the material wasn’t easy, Akash says the biggest boon of the material is its longevity — timeless charm in the real sense.
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