It is that time of year to get on the bus and head back to school. Preparing for class and back-to-school activities is not our most sustainability-focused time or year. We want to buy new clothes, new supplies- a new look. This Fall, some students will be living in style out of an old container.

As some college students in Amsterdam move into their brand new housing, accommodations will be a hip combination of new and old. Rethinking the way we use things, Keetowonen, a student housing project in Amsterdam, is transforming shipping containers into 1000 units for college students. Each container block has one building services container that supplies the block with electricity and Internet. Atop the roof is a different container system that collects rainwater, while providing equal heat dispersal and insulation for the units below.

Our perception of a shipping container might not be of something very spacious since they’re usually packed full of non-perishable products from across the globe. Yet, when emptied and tidied up, they can be made into a quite accommodating space. Each 40 square-foot unit is equipped with all the amenities a college student might need- sink, shower, toilet, kitchen, a boiler for hot waster, electricity, heat, and even balconies. Some end units have windows on the side to allow more sunlight to penetrate their space. The box-in-box construction means that the floors, walls and ceilings don’t come in contact with the external structure of the container. Therefore, the interior space in insulated from thermal change and sound disruption.

Also on the campus, Tempohousing installed a café-restaurant, a supermarket, office building, laundry-mat, and a sporting area- all made out of shipping containers. So, for those of you who simply can’t resist now, here is the skinny on the cost and availability of the containers. The units are rented out by the De Key housing corporation. Additionally, in 2005 the Dutch ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM) presented Keetwonen with a formal notice that the units are eligible for housing subsidies. "The amount of subsidy tenants can claim depends on their personal (financial) circumstances." Belastingdienst is the provider of this subsidy contract

The first block of 60 units was completed by September 2005 and was rented out. The last was finished in April 2006. This past April 25th, the project received the Funda Award for "best executed innovation in construction."

"At the award ceremony the jury acknowledged Keetwonen to be ‘bright stars in an otherwise dimly lit market which is acting slow on innovation.’ In the report produced by the jurors fast construction and the fact that the Keetwonen habitats are ready for habitation on arrival were the main focus. The low construction cost was also mentioned as a big plus."

Also on GO:

Urban Options: Group 41 Offers Free Custom Container Architecture