flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Must see: Developer stacks shipping containers atop grain silos to create student housing tower

Must see: Developer stacks shipping containers atop grain silos to create student housing tower

Mill Junction will house up to 370 students and is supported by 50-year-old grain silos.


By BD+C Staff | February 14, 2014

In a different take on shipping container student housing from Christian Salvati's work in Connecticut, a new student development has just opened to tenants in South Africa.

In less than a year, developer Cintiq built a 15-story structure, using pre-existing concrete grain silos and shipping containers. Mill Junction will house 370 Johnnesburg students, providing rooftop decks and free WiFi. 

Gizmodo reports that the basis of the structure, the approximately 50-year-old silos, sat empty for years. They were retrofitted with floors, dorm rooms, and windows as a part of the process. The development is also wheelchair accessible reports The Citizen

A massive crane lifted the shipping containers onto the silos, and the final step was to decorate the containers' interior. 

 

Balanced on 50-year-old silos, the shipping containers are actually wheelchair accessible.

 

Windows had to be cut out of the thick concrete of the silos.

 

The shipping containers were lifted on to the silos with a crane. 

 

Rooftop balconies are a feature of the development.

 

The shipping containers were fitted out with new paint and interiors as a final step before habitation.

Related Stories

Market Data | Apr 1, 2024

Nonresidential construction spending dips 1.0% in February, reaches $1.179 trillion

National nonresidential construction spending declined 1.0% in February, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.179 trillion.

Affordable Housing | Apr 1, 2024

Biden Administration considers ways to influence local housing regulations

The Biden Administration is considering how to spur more affordable housing construction with strategies to influence reform of local housing regulations.

Affordable Housing | Apr 1, 2024

Chicago voters nix ‘mansion tax’ to fund efforts to reduce homelessness

Chicago voters in March rejected a proposed “mansion tax” that would have funded efforts to reduce homelessness in the city.

Standards | Apr 1, 2024

New technical bulletin covers window opening control devices

A new technical bulletin clarifies the definition of a window opening control device (WOCD) to promote greater understanding of the role of WOCDs and provide an understanding of a WOCD’s function.

Adaptive Reuse | Mar 30, 2024

Hotel vs. office: Different challenges in commercial to residential conversions

In the midst of a national housing shortage, developers are examining the viability of commercial to residential conversions as a solution to both problems.

Sustainability | Mar 29, 2024

Demystifying carbon offsets vs direct reductions

Chris Forney, Principal, Brightworks Sustainability, and Rob Atkinson, Senior Project Manager, IA Interior Architects, share the misconceptions about carbon offsets and identify opportunities for realizing a carbon-neutral building portfolio.

Reconstruction & Renovation | Mar 28, 2024

Longwood Gardens reimagines its horticulture experience with 17-acre conservatory

Longwood Gardens announced this week that Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience, the most ambitious revitalization in a century of America’s greatest center for horticultural display, will open to the public on November 22, 2024.

Office Buildings | Mar 27, 2024

A new Singapore office campus inaugurates the Jurong Innovation District, a business park located in a tropical rainforest

Surbana Jurong, an urban, infrastructure and managed services consulting firm, recently opened its new headquarters in Singapore. Surbana Jurong Campus inaugurates the Jurong Innovation District, a business park set in a tropical rainforest.

Cultural Facilities | Mar 27, 2024

Kansas City’s new Sobela Ocean Aquarium home to nearly 8,000 animals in 34 habitats

Kansas City’s new Sobela Ocean Aquarium is a world-class facility home to nearly 8,000 animals in 34 habitats ranging from small tanks to a giant 400,000-gallon shark tank. 

Market Data | Mar 26, 2024

Architecture firm billings see modest easing in February

Architecture firm billings continued to decline in February, with an AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score of 49.5 for the month. However, February’s score marks the most modest easing in billings since July 2023 and suggests that the recent slowdown may be receding.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.



Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021