flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Must see: Developer stacks shipping containers atop grain silos to create student housing tower

Must see: Developer stacks shipping containers atop grain silos to create student housing tower

Mill Junction will house up to 370 students and is supported by 50-year-old grain silos.


By BD+C Staff | February 14, 2014

In a different take on shipping container student housing from Christian Salvati's work in Connecticut, a new student development has just opened to tenants in South Africa.

In less than a year, developer Cintiq built a 15-story structure, using pre-existing concrete grain silos and shipping containers. Mill Junction will house 370 Johnnesburg students, providing rooftop decks and free WiFi. 

Gizmodo reports that the basis of the structure, the approximately 50-year-old silos, sat empty for years. They were retrofitted with floors, dorm rooms, and windows as a part of the process. The development is also wheelchair accessible reports The Citizen

A massive crane lifted the shipping containers onto the silos, and the final step was to decorate the containers' interior. 

 

Balanced on 50-year-old silos, the shipping containers are actually wheelchair accessible.

 

Windows had to be cut out of the thick concrete of the silos.

 

The shipping containers were lifted on to the silos with a crane. 

 

Rooftop balconies are a feature of the development.

 

The shipping containers were fitted out with new paint and interiors as a final step before habitation.

Related Stories

Architects | Oct 27, 2015

Architecture at Zero 2015 design competition names award winners

Entrants created family-style student residential plans for the University of California, San Francisco Mission Bay campus. All projects needed to be as close to net-zero as possible.

Architects | Oct 22, 2015

AIA: Architecture firms reporting progress on achieving carbon reduction targets as part of the 2030 Commitment

The AIA 2030 2014 Progress Report highlights an increase in design projects, gross square footage, and net-zero energy projects.

Architects | Oct 21, 2015

Strong rebound for Architecture Billings Index

Business conditions continue to be weak in the Northeast, but the other regions are in good shape.

Museums | Oct 20, 2015

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Bachman Wilson House finds new home at Arkansas museum

Crystal Bridges Museum reconstructed the 61-year-old Usonian house and will open it to the public in November.

Architects | Oct 20, 2015

Four building material innovations from the Chicago Architecture Biennial

From lightweight wooden pallets to the largest lengths of CLT-slabs that can be shipped across North America

University Buildings | Oct 16, 2015

5 ways architecture defines the university brand

People gravitate to brands for many reasons. Campus architecture and landscape are fundamental influences on the college brand, writes Perkins+Will's David Damon.

Architects | Oct 13, 2015

Architects Foundation expands National Resilience Initiative

The group is launching a search for three more NRI members.

Architects | Oct 13, 2015

Santiago Calatrava wins the European Prize for Architecture

The award honors those who "forward the principles of European humanism."

Office Buildings | Oct 5, 2015

Renderings revealed for Apple's second 'spaceship': a curvy, lush office complex in Sunnyvale

The project has been dubbed as another “spaceship,” referencing the nickname for the loop-shaped Apple Campus under construction in Cupertino. 

Airports | Oct 5, 2015

Perkins+Will selected to design Istanbul’s 'Airport City'

The mixed-use development will be adjacent to the Istanbul New Airport, which is currently under construction.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Resiliency

Austin area evacuation center will double as events venue

A new 45,000 sf FEMA-operated evacuation shelter in the Greater Austin metropolitan area will begin construction this fall. The center will be available to house people in the event of a disaster such as a major hurricane and double as an events venue when not needed for emergency shelter.



halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021