My dad is 83 years old. Until a few weeks ago he still walked a couple of miles every day where he lived down in Orange County. He'd visit the senior center where he told me old men go to lie to each other. Then he'd head down to sample the free cheeses at Whole Foods. He values his independence. A few weeks ago he had a moderate stroke. He wasn't badly effected physically but he has a little aphasia and he needs somebody to keep an eye on him. My wife and I live in a small but very beautiful home in Portland. When we brought him home from the hospital we fixed our living room up for him to sleep in. It's bright and airy and right next to the bathroom. A few days into this he got up early and decided to take a shower before we woke up. It was bad, he tore the paper thin skin on his arm and bumped his head. As I write this I'm sitting next to him in the hospital. He's doing ok but we're sending him to a stoke therapy rehab for a few weeks to regain his balance and get him walking properly again. Plainly the living room isn't going to work when he comes home. As frail has he is now he hasn't lost his independence but I can't let this happen again. I came up with a plan.
I don't have time to build my own container based solution but I came up with a good alternative. Mobile Mini rents ground based security offices. They are built out of Mobile Mini's custom modular container design. It's a lighter weight version of standard shipping container design but includes HVAC, windows and a man door. The interiors are built out with linoleum floors and a drywall finish over an r19 insulated frame. We're going to carpet it, furnish it and add drapes. I'll adapt a composting or chemical toilet behind a partition wall and we will have a spare bedroom! It will fit in my driveway next to the house and I can connect it to the 220v in my garage. The man door will face the side door of our house. It's three steps up into the house but it's also the only stairway I can put enough grab bars in to make it really safe for him when he wants to come in. And best of all I can monitor him with both an intercom and a door bell. I lived very comfortably in the 20 footer I built in New Orleans and now its going to be working for my dad.
The most amazing thing about this is that Mobile Mini only charges about $275 a month for the 8x20 unit that I just described, and they are legal habitable spaces that do not require permits. Each unit has a little aluminum plate rivited to it on which is engraved a permit number issued by the state architects office, each state issues its own. That plate acts as a warranty that all building codes have been followed in its construction and serves as its own building permit. I've known about this for a couple of years. I had plans to start a business doing residential container conversions on this model. I know exactly what it costs to build these and in the short run its just cheaper to rent one, it's getting dropped off on the first of the month.
I'll add photos as we bring it online.
Edit:
My dad continues to improve because he's in a stroke rehab unit thats giving him intensive physical and speech therapy. He seems to enjoy this environment, being around people and having a dining room to go to. We're thinking that the best long term plan is to get him into a local assisted living facility. That way when he wants to spend a few days with us he can but then he can go home too. As a result I canceled my Mobile Mini order. But it's still available as an extra bedroom housing solution should we need it. I'm sure if your reading my blog the idea of a simple addition is high on your list. Now you have a way to try the whole container thing without having to invest heavily in the process, just rent.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Zidell Yards
http://chatterbox.typepad.com/portlandarchitecture/2012/09/the-zidell-yards-discussing-a-new-portland-neighborhood.html
Looks like the Zidell Yards project I spent the last couple of posts on is going to be designed by ZGF Architects. Congratulations guys! I'm told by Rebar that ZGF will be handling the permanent infrastructure design and that Rebar is still going to be handling the temporary container based architecture which will start in the spring.
Looks like the Zidell Yards project I spent the last couple of posts on is going to be designed by ZGF Architects. Congratulations guys! I'm told by Rebar that ZGF will be handling the permanent infrastructure design and that Rebar is still going to be handling the temporary container based architecture which will start in the spring.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Progress
Rebar, a San Francisco based design firm has been asked by Zidell Maritime to develop an interim use program for thirty acres of waterfront property here in Portland, Oregon. They have asked me to take on the job of project manager. Of course it's impractical to try and develop a site this size all at once so we needed a starting point. Zidell has asked us to design and build a food cart pod next to the lower landing of the OHSU aerial tram. The address is 3201 SW Moody Ave. The site is a little less than one acre and currently is graded with rock behind a five foot eco-block retaining wall along Moody Ave. It has a large electrical service panel on an H frame on the n/w corner and is fenced with chain link. I've seen the initial design plans and an waiting for the construction documents to come down from Rebar.
I've asked two people to join me in managing this project. Matthew McCune is a licensed architect and general contractor with a background in design/build construction. Tim Miller will be handling legal affairs and accounting. Tim's value and experience is simply stated on his business card as "bringing structure to creative people".
This food cart pod will be set up to serve a population of about fifty thousand people. The South Waterfront neighborhood currently consists of several high rise residential and office towers and is connected by aerial tram to Oregon Health and Science University. The area is under served by the local food service industry and is expected to be enthusiastically welcomed by both populations. In order to serve a population of this size we are installing a forty foot high-cube container that will provide additional refrigerated space to the individual carts which are normally supplied by off-site commissary kitchens. The container will also carry large scale graphics to advertise it's presence to the neighborhood.
I've asked two people to join me in managing this project. Matthew McCune is a licensed architect and general contractor with a background in design/build construction. Tim Miller will be handling legal affairs and accounting. Tim's value and experience is simply stated on his business card as "bringing structure to creative people".
This food cart pod will be set up to serve a population of about fifty thousand people. The South Waterfront neighborhood currently consists of several high rise residential and office towers and is connected by aerial tram to Oregon Health and Science University. The area is under served by the local food service industry and is expected to be enthusiastically welcomed by both populations. In order to serve a population of this size we are installing a forty foot high-cube container that will provide additional refrigerated space to the individual carts which are normally supplied by off-site commissary kitchens. The container will also carry large scale graphics to advertise it's presence to the neighborhood.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Something Big
A few weeks ago I was contacted by Blaine Merker of REBAR in San Francisco. REBAR has made a name for themselves with progressive city planners as the go-to design team if you want to rehabilitate vacant urban landscape in order to create vibrancy and usefulness. Their projects in both New York and San Francisco feature converted cargo container architecture to highlight that the current use is transitory and acts as a place holder for some future, more permanent use. I've been working with a group to implement these containers in a new, flexible and creative way for retail uses in addition to building residential structures. I'm feeling particularly well equipped to help REBAR in this new Portland project.
Rebar has been working with a client here in Portland that has a little bit of maritime waterfront next to downtown, about thirty acres! The client, Zidell Maritime, gave REBAR the challenge of reconnecting the people of Portland with the Willamette River waterfront. For years there as been almost no river access and the Willamette's water quality reputation kept it from being an ideal location for a swim. That reputation is more than a little dated. The City of Portland recently completed work on a giant infrastructure project that diverts city waste from the river. After spending more than twenty million dollars of their own money to clean and clear the brownfield status of their shipyard site the Zidell family wants to present Portland, Oregon with a new public space, that includes a beach.
Blaine and his partner Mike flew up to Portland last week to meet with the people from Zidell. The next day I hosted a lunch to introduce the guys from REBAR to a group of artists, makers and builders that I'd assembled to hear about REBAR's vision for the site and how we can bring that vision to life. It was truly impressive. They'll be back in a few weeks to take us for a site walk through and to present how they want to define the space. So far the specifics discussed are a metal arts fabrication facility, artist in residence structures, a beer garden and a public sauna. We've been encouraged to come up with additional on-going programing and to develop ways to raise awareness of the site.
Google Maps to; 3121 SW Moody Ave Portland, Oregon 97239. The site is all the undeveloped waterfront land between the Ross Island Bridge and the Marquam Bridge.
Rebar has been working with a client here in Portland that has a little bit of maritime waterfront next to downtown, about thirty acres! The client, Zidell Maritime, gave REBAR the challenge of reconnecting the people of Portland with the Willamette River waterfront. For years there as been almost no river access and the Willamette's water quality reputation kept it from being an ideal location for a swim. That reputation is more than a little dated. The City of Portland recently completed work on a giant infrastructure project that diverts city waste from the river. After spending more than twenty million dollars of their own money to clean and clear the brownfield status of their shipyard site the Zidell family wants to present Portland, Oregon with a new public space, that includes a beach.
Blaine and his partner Mike flew up to Portland last week to meet with the people from Zidell. The next day I hosted a lunch to introduce the guys from REBAR to a group of artists, makers and builders that I'd assembled to hear about REBAR's vision for the site and how we can bring that vision to life. It was truly impressive. They'll be back in a few weeks to take us for a site walk through and to present how they want to define the space. So far the specifics discussed are a metal arts fabrication facility, artist in residence structures, a beer garden and a public sauna. We've been encouraged to come up with additional on-going programing and to develop ways to raise awareness of the site.
Google Maps to; 3121 SW Moody Ave Portland, Oregon 97239. The site is all the undeveloped waterfront land between the Ross Island Bridge and the Marquam Bridge.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Photos, at long last...........
Follow this link to my wife's Flicker site for photos of the interior of the Portland container house.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54864068@N03/sets/72157629487028758/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54864068@N03/sets/72157629487028758/
Monday, April 9, 2012
How This Blog Works
The early posts were created so that people with frequently asked questions could get answers right away. Since then I covered the projects that I've been working on. Lately I haven't had much to add to the conversation. Go to the oldest posts first, they've got a lot of detail. Honestly I'm writing this because I feel guilty about not updating this blog more frequently.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Permits and other factors
I've been getting a lot of email recently. People really do read my posts. I'm not surprised that people are talking about building again and I'm happy that they are taking a look at alternatives like cargo containers. Every body that writes to me already sees the value, sustainability and low cost as being what people need right now. There are a lot of questions about how to approach the building department. As you've read in previous posts it's not the technical part that's difficult getting a permit, it's the cost. It seems like costly system development fees and long drawn out design reviews put a lot of people off. There is a way around that.
In most neighborhoods in cities built early in the last century there are houses which didn't get regular maintenance. Even before the current fore-closer mess houses sat vacant. If there not tuned up periodically nature takes them back. Sills rot and roofs leak causing all sort of damage. Usually their small and it didn't make sense to redevelop back in the boom. If you want to build a container house this is the thing you want to buy. The way the rules work in most municipalities if you save part of one wall of an existing structure than your doing an extensive remodel, you are not doing not doing new construction. The water pipes to the meter are still there and the sewer is already hooked up. This saves vast amounts of money on permits. Picking the right place could save you the cost of a small container home. Fee's in Portland, Oregon for new raw land construction run about $34,000. I built my last house here for about $32.000.
In most neighborhoods in cities built early in the last century there are houses which didn't get regular maintenance. Even before the current fore-closer mess houses sat vacant. If there not tuned up periodically nature takes them back. Sills rot and roofs leak causing all sort of damage. Usually their small and it didn't make sense to redevelop back in the boom. If you want to build a container house this is the thing you want to buy. The way the rules work in most municipalities if you save part of one wall of an existing structure than your doing an extensive remodel, you are not doing not doing new construction. The water pipes to the meter are still there and the sewer is already hooked up. This saves vast amounts of money on permits. Picking the right place could save you the cost of a small container home. Fee's in Portland, Oregon for new raw land construction run about $34,000. I built my last house here for about $32.000.
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