Reports from Intl. Code Council focus on expanding use of shipping containers as building materials

The ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES), a member of the International Code Council Family of Companies, recently issued three evaluation reports that help expand use of shipping containers as building materials.

The reports pertain to three companies offering shipping containers for housing: SG Blocks, Inc., Sea Box, Inc., and Falcon Structures. The reports show the companies’ compliance to AC 462, the Acceptance Criteria for Structural Building Materials from Shipping Containers, and ensure that these products meet applicable codes and standards.

“The growing market demand for alternative building materials and techniques has led to a pressing need by the construction industry for new sources for materials,” according to a news release from ICC-ES. The global container homes market alone, as reported by Allied Market Research, is expected to reach over $73 billion by 2025.

In addition to product evaluations provided by ICC-ES, the International Accreditation Service (IAS), another member of the Code Council Family of Companies, provides accreditation for fabricators and third-party and special inspection agencies to support confidence in the manufacturers and inspectors of off-site and modular products and services.

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.