It was in May 2007 that we stopped by the ground-breaking ceremony for the new community center/parsonage house on East 7th Street in Boyle Heights, a project done by shipping container king Peter DeMaria. Well, this thing is done--and it looks pretty damn good. It's a roughly 3,200 square foot building that uses seven shipping containers--all the containers are on the second floor. "The entire bottom floor is created by two walls and the containers up above," says DeMaria. There was a ceremony on Saturday to dedicate the project, which sits across from the church, and which will be used for weddings, meetings, and other community events. A more extensive plaza is planned for the area between this development and the church, while flowers and trellises will be added to "soften up" the outside of the new building. According to the DeMaria, the building's cost was reduced 25-30 percent by using the shipping containers (as opposed to using traditional materials. On a residential home that relies mostly on using the containers, it'd be a reduction of 95 percent compared to traditional materials, he says). Meanwhile, this project is visible for quite some distance. "When you drive by on the 5 freeway, you can see it," he says. "The containers glow." Glow, baby, glow.
· DeMaria Associates [Official Site]
· Container Bay [FabPrefab]
· Redondo Beach Container Home Fully Contained [Curbed LA]
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