Detroit Architect, Developer To Create �Green� Housing from Discarded Shipping Containers

Steven C. Flum, Inc., a Detroit architectural firm best-known for its urban design work, and The Power Of Green Housing�, a Detroit developer with a background in rehabilitation of residential homes, are collaborating in design/build construction of sustainable and low-cost housing in the area, using discarded shipping containers.

�Some 20,000 shipping containers arrive per day in this country that do not get returned, because it�s cheaper to keep building them new than to ship them back to the exporter,� explained Leslie Horn, CEO and co-founder of The Power of Green Housing�. �But they�re made of materials that are perfect for green housing construction; they�re readily available in large quantities; and they can readily conform to building codes.�

The reason for launching the company is obvious. �The combination of the strong movement to utilize energy and materials efficiently and in an environmentally safe manner, coupled with the ongoing campaign to preserve the earth�s natural resources made us expand our focus to develop and build green housing,� she continued.

As the springboard for The Power� entering the sustainable, low-cost housing industry, Steven Flum, AIA, is designing a 17-unit condominium with more than 24,000 s. f. of living space, which will be built near Wayne State University�s campus later this year. �From the architect�s point of view, the containers allow for creative urban design,� he explained. �They are innovative and modern, but also affordable.�

The containers typically come in a range of sizes from 8�x8�x10� to 8�x8�x40,� which provides flexibility in designing floorplans, and Horn estimates using 85 containers in designing the Detroit project. They will use this and a second prototype planned for later this year to serve as examples of how to build and warehouse pre-fab housing that can be sent out to the site.

Additionally, the housing will incorporate versatile exterior surfaces applied directly over corrugated metal, including exterior paints with insulating qualities, to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability. Living areas will utilize radiant heating to reduce energy costs; and even incorporate recycled materials for producing work counters. The company will add a variety of features, such as composting and a recycling component on site.

The concept of designing housing from containers is not new, Horn noted. �It�s been done in Europe and, to a limited extent in this country. But no one has looked at organizing the process on a larger scale incorporating a range of recycled materials and efficiencies that could save a homeowner as much as 60 percent annually in energy costs,� she added.

Flum and The Power��s prototype will be featured in an exhibit, �Considering Architecture: Sustainable Designs from Detroit,� running May 10 to July 28 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), and co-sponsored by the American Institute of Architects� Urban Priorities Committee, the Urban Land Institute, and the U.S. Green Building Council. The exhibit includes the designs, architecture and products of several local area architecture firms and highlights their projects that incorporate �green,� or sustainable design practices. ###

Background on the principals
Steven Flum, Inc., Detroit, was established in 1991. The firm�s basic philosophy is to support infill development within existing urban areas; to conserve environmental resources, economic investment, and the social fabric, while reclaiming marginal and abandoned areas. Re-creating the traditional neighborhood fabric within an existing community by adding new architecturally compatible housing is a design principle Flum uses effectively. Additionally, the firm is a promoter and professional laborer in the preservation and restoration of historic places.

The Power of Green Housing�, Detroit, is owned and managed by The Power Of�LLC and was established in 2005. The company is dedicated to becoming the leader of development and construction of the highest quality of green, sustainable and low-cost building. Single-family homes, multi-family dwellings and commercial structures will take on a new focus through the introduction of the processes developed by the company. The company chose the state for its headquarters because of a positive, proactive attitude among officials to move Michigan to become an environmental leader in the 21st century.