He stacked 64 containers in high-end solar skyscraper of 18 condos

He had already stacked containers two and three stories, but with his Ida apartment complex, Brian Stark went 85 feet high with 64 containers (on top of two floors of concrete culverts) to create North America's tallest container building.
The 64-shipping-container tower packs features to avoid doomsday phenomena and could equally inspire preparedness experts and enthusiasts of "arcologies" (self-contained cities-within-a-building). For example, Ida reclaims the sidewalk and creates extra shade by using solar; it also gathers all Monsoon rains collected through the building to maintain native plants, storing the rest on a vertical container installed on one side.
All the containers have been well-used, and dents are visible: Stark likes it this way. "Why we like using containers is they exist in our world already, so this building is 300 tonnes, 600,000 tonnes of steel that we didn't have to build." There are 18 condos, both one- and two-story, and all are made from high cubes so have expansive ceilings.
All the water that falls on the building is collected into one vertical container that acts as a cistern for irrigating the rooftop and surrounding landscaping and for washing the building. Solar panels cover the sidewalk in front, which helps to power the building, but also provides much-needed shade for a desert city.
The IDA sits in the Roosevelt Row arts district, and within a few blocks, Stark has two other container projects. We also visited the Churchill, a complex of 10 locally owned restaurants, bars and shops inside 20 containers. A few blocks away, we stopped at The Oscar, which has 9 apartments and 2 offices from 24 containers.
Local Studio: www.localstudi...
Arcology: en.wikipedia.o...
On *faircompanies: faircompanies....

[@brucehain]

Never before seen container dwellings that actually have aesthetic appeal. These go farther: they're beautiful. Very unusual to have a person with such engineering expertise in combination with a gift for creating beautiful living environments, with flair.

[@johndeere3486]

Because “container” buildings don’t actually make sense or pencil out. These are luxury condos pretending to be “recycled” and “green”

[@blueman5924]

I’m guessing the interior walls are still framed with lumber then spray foamed, and drywalled(sheetrock),but it would have good for him to clarify how they got that high insulation value. Love the idea of using the rejected containers though. The open air eatery/market was soooo nice !👏🍁🤙

[@larrysorenson4789]

Steel studs. Batt mineral wool insulation, drywall.

[@MassiveChetBakerFan]

Brilliant! This model could provide a lot of "missing middle" housing. I love the shade on the streets.

[@hugovale6360]

It would be interesting to know how much are the savings towards a "regular" building.

[@LaineyBug2020]

I usually don't like boxy utilitarian structures but this certainly has charm and character all of it's own!

[@okra3000]

I've been doing research in order to build modern cabins from box culverts. It's inspiring to see someone else exploring their dwelling potential.

[@shirlebryant9427]

ADDITIONALLY, this reminds me of Habitat 67 in Montreal, Canada designed by Moshe Safdie. I lived in Canada, and went to see and visit folks who lived there.

[@dews3340]

Excellent 👌

[@daidavies6210]

You have obviously not spoken to any of the residents…. It’s constantly under repairs , Water is constantly coming in. And so far has violated 14 Building codes.. People refuse to live in them now and is currently at a 56% occupancy as the other 42% is empty and 9 of those have been classed as Not Habitable due to structural problems…

[@dews3340]

@@daidavies6210 no I have not spoken to anyone recently and nor have I visited since the 1970s! Boom and boom

[@miimosa679]

Love the sustainability aspect. I learned so much... love these units. The idea of using the solar panels for shading and the sistern for collecting water that'll be reused, etc. Awesome.

[@daidavies6210]

Ok what is the sustainability of these things if you have learned so much ? It cant be the solar Panels because if you stack 8 on top of each other then there is only room for 3 Solar Panels , Thats not enough to provide electricity for 8 Containers… In a Inner city area, And if a Stress Fracture happens on the Welds you literally have too Remove that Container for Repairs, Mostly the Bottom ones will have that problem,Due to supporting the wight of the Other 7 on top of it. So Yeah They are a terrible idea. ?

[@cherrywood5187]

You can see the evolution of each version, the iteration you don't believe, it's so impressive! The interior design of the latest one can't imagine a place in a container. The limitless creativity is awe-inspiring.

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

The water irrigation aspect is amazing. Great work

[@swoondrones]

The Oscar is so good! So is Churchill. So impressive.

[@kf7bws]

Absolutely love it. When I win the lottery I want to hire him to build my family compound.

[@RevdUp.Art.Fotografer]

Put ‘shipping container homes’ in the YT search. You will find a lot of good ideas. Cheers!

[@FrisellFan01]

Well, me being a huge container home fan from the very start... this concept is beyond cool, very practical and I wish more cities in America would use up the massive numbers of containers in ports we have around the country for projects just like this.....if only you could get building commissioners in major cities see the magic that could be made with projects like this......think of how much could get done.

[@TheLostMedici]

This interview with Brian was really excellent - we got a bit of the thinking behind the architectural decisions and values. Great piece.

[@kathbrandon8023]

Happy to see elevators included!

[@Pedroisanickname]

The secret sauce here is not to overthink it or over engineer it. How refreshing!😂

[@Erika-gm2tf]

I'm sure the engineers did the overthinking, but I like this guy's inspired attitude.

[@ErichNolanBertussi]

the utter lack of capacity to make these passivhaus compliant makes them utterly unsustainable. - good temporary use in temperate climates. not high heat arizona, the energy needed to cool isn't sustainable.

[@longiusaescius2537]

@ErichNolanBertussi yeah but California transplants will slobber over this eyesore and make it heritage protected I'm sure

[@ErichNolanBertussi]

@@longiusaescius2537 lmfao, if they last 100 years, i really think these cute ideas are great for temporary housing, but if we continue to build without heading toward passivhaus on roids, with the aim for the housing to last 500 years then i submit we are still doing it wrong... the earth is changing we need to stop building domiciles that need energy to heat and cool.

[@daidavies6210]

Wow thank goodness your not a structural engineer………….😂

[@maurawhelan3530]

The ultimate recycling…and great housing…win win. Very cool.

[@sinjofin1]

We were using these back in the early 1990' in SA as temporary housing for our workers while they secured land and building permits. Also used as Spaza shops on places like Dobson ille and other places.

[@raysville7256]

BrainPower and Aesthetics, bravo!

[@debbralehrman5957]

Thanks I haven't been down town in a couple of years so it is nice to see what is being done. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@patstats1]

In 1974, a dear visionary friend proposed using shipping containers in this manner. Stacked and arranged. So glad to see this realized.

[@RevdUp.Art.Fotografer]

A carpenter friend of mine and I (almost that long ago…yikes!) were just bouncing all kinds of ideas off each other…about a lot of different things. This is one that came through. We got as far as welding two together to make a bigger space and then we moved on to something else. I’m really glad that these are being utilized. There are too many of them I know over the next 10 years some major ideas are going to really move that all forward. And then the price will go up…

[@lougreene-winters2172]

Another brilliant video, setting an example of how to use knowledge of a location, weather and engineering to create a sustainable way of living. I loved this one! The patina on the last building was beautiful!

[@harishshastry2057]

A time where the apartment builders take down payment and then regular payments at specific intervals and deliver the homes in 3-5 years and the bank sharks hound you for next 30 years on mortgage, this is a superb solution! Saving on natural resources such as water when you construct a brick and mortar building is something which is a big saver in this case! So many distinct advantages!

[@sergioliberates]

People have a choise to keep their mortgage for 30 years. A mortgage can be paid off sooner if desired. People let the banks shark them but they have the freedom to pay it off sooner.

[@danp6897]

Normally I'm not really a fan of container homes, but this really utilizes their great strength of stackability in a way that smaller structures cannot.

[@rirkc]

Jeez, that flooring. You can't buy/make flooring with character like that. So nice.

[@MrPhotodoc]

The box culvert idea is cool.

[@leslielutz6140]

Fantastic !!! All the places those containers have been too . . so cool.

[@emilyarchibald1900]

I love those rusted containers, I thought it was nice cedar siding at first.

[@elsienorback7689]

Genius build! What a great way to repurpose containers in a way that hasn’t been done in America. Container homes have been built for many years, but not at an apartment level.

[@jokeorcry]

kids are growing up so fast omg you guys are awesome

[@cathymoloney8668]

Love this video! Thanks for sharing.

[@meganhamlyn1694]

I stayed in a container hotel in Costa Rica. It was a wonderful place to stay- we loved that it was an ultimate way to recycle!

[@RPRosen-ki2fk]

After reading "container" in the title, I did not have high expectations, but ended up pleasantly surprised with the results. Brian Stark has really earned my RESPECT with the projects he showed.

[@laverite1050]

Cool design elements, but still like living in a self-storage unit with cut outs.

[@RevdUp.Art.Fotografer]

!!!!!!!!

[@kelvynbettridge]

I have a growing dislike for solutions that involve us living in stacks. It’s not necessary in my opinion.

[@julieb669]

Perhaps more about control?

[@makesmefeellikeatalltree8250]

What's the alternative? Urban sprawl?

[@powercatsp]

What a fascinating concept to use concrete culverts for the elevator shaft! Wow-- now to integrate passive cooling features, that would make everything so awesome.

[@megmoore335]

This was a really great vid Kirsten and Dirksen family! I love this model, utilizing what already exists, and building quickly. The inside is beautiful, and the older projects, they are so gorgeous! Thank you for creating this video. I am always so inspired by the people and builds you find and explore!

[@shirlebryant9427]

Excellent

[@joanacker917]

So the cost to rent is the same? Even though the construction cost was so low. What is the benefit to the renter?

[@LOOKOUT2012]

I think you missed the whole point of the concept behind 'Repurposing ' Rather than using. We materials... That and the aesthetics. Maybe watch again 😎

[@LOOKOUT2012]

*New materials

[@purplewombat1923]

I love this idea! So cost effective and practical.

[@tedspradley]

I was looking for some indication of price or even price relative to other types of construction. Did I miss where they talked about it? What was the pricing?

[@litwin707]

FANTASTIC!!!!

[@michaelgillespie502]

great looking structure and a brilliant idea to use the concrete culverts at the base!

[@_cjmaine2664]

Love, love, LOVE!

[@kapilchhabria1727]

Insulation and weatherproofing has left the discussion.

[@CK1000ism]

It looks like they insulated the bottoms of each container. and there was a line about how they exceed code for insulation--not sure how though.

[@Pedroisanickname]

He said they were above code in terms of insulation. I'm sure the windows don't leak or the roof for that matter. Not much rain there.

[@robertpalmer3166]

What an absolutely ridiculous comment.

[@Nerd3927]

Exactly! Bare metal floors and walls with epoxy... The people building this stuff should be forced to live in it too.

[@robertpalmer3166]

It is literally impossible to be that stupid, but you did it.@@Nerd3927

[@CharlesGriffith1965]

Fantastic episode. A great example of the elegance of re-use when creativity is applied....

[@CallintheGUNSHIP]

5:28 let’s discuss flipping the top container upside down before stacking. Wouldn’t this be easier to cut as the ceilings are already thin and the strong floor of the top container is now the roof?

[@m.berelli]

Would the locking corners still work in this orientation?

[@zenobia256]

Actually, the floors are only wood with with metal ribs across the bottom to support the weight of cargo ...so to be a roof would require more work

[@zenobia256]

I'm not seeing your comment here but I'll answer anyway... Yes they're welded in. Technically I guess you would call them "cross members" ...you can kind of think of containers as large covered pallets. There are also "flat racks" and open top containers that will stack with regular containers...

[@trixesatelier]

I LOVE THESE. So well thought out. Truly a lifestyle.

[@18noplip11]

I live in Tempe and plan to visit all of their locations!!! Thanks for the video

[@EmsCare]

I love love love this guy and his bright mind and what an amazing homes they created! I would live there for sure, very cool

[@mdolorspc]

I love all the technical explanations! I'm a bit of an 'structures freak' and I learned so much!

[@DunderKlomp]

Beautiful work. The biggest issue is dealing with unimaginative tradespeople who only want to do what they know.

[@enchantedbananas]

the floors are actually beautiful and so are the culvert block windows.

[@cindywiner2772]

WOW, so very cool!!!!!!!

[@ReynaMagdaleneD.Picorro]

I love this. I just got my 40ft container from Wuwi Shipping Container very cheap and even paid it upon delivery. cant wait to start working

[@ThomasHaagen]

Love Corten Steal / and these mighty "tiny projects".Thanks #4sharing (:

[@tendue0726]

Thanks for sharing. This is mind blowing as I thought all container homes have low ceilings and this loft layout is amazing!

[@Nerd3927]

It is inspiring to use alternative (scrap) materials and build your dream home without breaking the bank. It is evil to have a project developer cheaply craft substandard housing from scrap materials and sell it at a premium.

[@Jakawere1]

Very inspiring. As a container home owner am impressed

[@MoteOfDust430]

Brilliant. Appreciate all you content.

[@al-karimabdulaziz8961]

Brilliant design.

[@iexist6021]

I’m gonna build a container bunker.

[@binobones]

A buried container compound on a hillside would be too cool

[@timgillman]

As long as you don't have anything fall in and block the doors. You probably need a second door anyway, and can make it open in.

[@laeihbvaljefhbvalejfhbv]

“Don’t tell anyone” as he proceeds to tell Kirsten Dirksen and her millions of followers 😂 Really cool building nonetheless, more of these in the Bay Area please.

[@alexnguyen1284]

rich people from san francisco would never live in these things. Its for poor people lol.

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

He's right about the old covered sidewalks downtown. When I was driving a taxi there in the mid-70's there was still a surviving old hotel with covered sidewalks. I used to sit on their cab stand partly because it was covered, also because people who bet on the greyhounds would stay there.

[@tedspradley]

12:19 Neat. I love recycling. I’m guessing that they will get to the pricing. Since there was so much savings in time and money by using containers, the homes sell/lease for significantly less per square foot than the market going rate while still providing the project owner/developer a good profit. With the competitive pricing advantage we should see hundreds of thousands of these around the country and world. Container use for homes, offices, storage has been around for decades. Why don’t we see the hundreds of thousands of homes that we should see? Where is the breakdown?

[@anotherchannel589]

This guy loooooves his floors😀

[@ernestallen5154]

Love this. I would live here in a heartbeat.

[@espnmk]

There's one housing solution folks , but get that passed bureaucrats. thanks for sharing always looking forward to your videos.

[@poerava]

Amazing design

[@JFabric500]

His architect must absolutely love and also hate him. Love this!!!

[@RevdUp.Art.Fotografer]

Not necessarily.

[@rolliepollie831]

So well done!!!! Beautiful 😍

[@landwirtschaft2116]

Also in Berlin club culture it almost became like standard architectural repertoire to use containers. If a club has an outdoor area and wants to enclose the premises to create a small universe on the inside that's blocking out the public usually containers are used for infrastructural essentials like sanitary facilities, bars, kitchens, more quiet rooms like backstage or office and when there's the need to have multiple stories… Usually it's just a few containers and then the gaps are closed with creatively designed wooden walls or to compartmentalise spaces in between…

[@TheDrKKool]

I would buy/live in one of these spaces for short stays.

[@Kandralla]

I'd like to see the actual numbers here. A shipping container is a super specialized object that is built to a cost; there is nothing there that doesn't need to be there; for instance, As soon as you poke a hole in that wall for a window you're going to have to do a bunch of work to reinforce that. It's not just repurposing an object, it's retrofitting an object for something it wasn't made to do, you can certainly convert a compact sedan into a full size pickup truck if you have enough money, that doesn't mean it would be wise or economical to do so. Additionally, he says these containers are being sold because they're worn out. What was being done with them before? They probably weren't being thrown away. If the goal is to eliminate net waste, what purpose were these containers going to serve that they are no longer available to serve? How many warehouses will have to be built because small businesses often buy these to use for storage. My point is, if someone wants to build an apartment building out of shipping containers because they like the aesthetics... great... but they're claiming an environmental benefit that is economically viable (though I guess he did say "we think") and I find it hard to believe those two goals are actually true and they're not just shifting the negative impacts elsewhere.

[@christinasornbutnark1208]

Wow this is very cool! I’ve been a subscriber for a minute now and this is my third favorite. After the man that built a beautiful homestead on the side of a dwindling California river. I often wonder how his river is doing since we’ve now just had our 10th atmospheric river. I bet he’s very happy 😊

[@Kara_2505]

Great to see the solar panels for shading the walk way! And also for the rooftop terrace. 16.45 water catchment system, yes! 🙌 Now if they would add more planters and start growing vegetables it would really get near full circle Refreshing to hear the positive qualities of metal like the relative fast release of heat and the rusting of The Oscar building, wich makes it more resilent and blends great in a desert environment. Especially in combination with native plants. 👌 Glad the comparison with brick and mortar was brought up, would have liked to hear more about that. I read this is a short term furnished rental building. I hope they get to do a residential complex where they take sustainability even further. 🤞🤞

[@sh-zm7xl]

I really appreciate your videos!

[@FloridaClay]

Cool! A bit surprised that I really like them.

[@thinkplanetearth2946]

I'm definitely a fan of repurposing existing things. And I liked the aesthetic of what they did. I would've liked to have known, are they insulated? What is the cost to purchase/rent one vs traditional builds? And I didn't really notice very much storage/closet space in the units that were shown. Perhaps you didn't film it?

[@paulus.tarsensus]

This design works well with the warm climate of Phoenix. You'd have to come up with a quite different design for this to work in the Midwest or in a cold climate. The temperature swings alone could cause destabilisation in a more Northern area. You might have to clad the exterior for this to work.

[@carolewarner101]

I love that last place where they just just the Corten steel rust rather than painting it. With the chunky stone, desert landscaping and rusted metal it takes on the colors and feel of the desert and the earth. While there's no port there, you forget they're shipping containers and they whisper of iron stains on the rocks of the desert, old train boxes, or even ghost town or mining operation ruins of rusting buildings or iron that's being mined from the rock. The colors and natural materials just look stunning to me in the context of Arizona. Really cool! The interiors of most of the apartments shown feel too cool (color wise), stark and modernistic to me though. I like the feel more of the food court where there are lots of plants, flow, color, texture. The only warmth are the original wood floors whcih are so nice! But I would like to see more warm, earthy elements inside the apartments too. Even weathered wood trim around the windows and/or baseboards, or maybe some reclaimed wood beams or posts or built in shelves or seating using wood or even off cuts of the Corten from window and door openings that have the rust patina on them worked in to the walls or furniture to warm them up energetically would be nice. That said, my sister and her husband LOVE cool, simple, unadorned, modernistic lines and colors... Very clever...really cool projects!

[@sjaron23]

So creative and he explains things well.

[@NeuroPulse]

I'm not sold on the repurposed shipping containers idea, partly because I think they should be used where they are needed, shipping. But It's an interesting experiment. As a side comment I will say the interior architecture of these apartments is fantastic. I would feel like a king living inside one.

[@iwantnod]

That is the point, these containers are not needed anymore so why not to use them for anything else.

[@tedspradley]

@@iwantnod I’ve built using containers twice. I’m thinking it is more cost effective to melt the old containers and form into structural steel that you can build whatever shape you need rather than as he said being constrained by the shape of the container.

[@susanmarcoux7005]

Those are amazing ❤

[@TomStedham]

Beautiful!

[@buzzart410]

Would like to see the actual construction methods. Cutting, welding, torches, drilling, marking, moving, insulation, plumbing, drainage.. etc..

[@HLR4th]

Much nicer than the buildings in Ready Player One!

[@lexnite22]

Another great thing is if you don't like the texture of the outside, you could simply add some sort of cladding but that means extra cost. This would solve the temporary housing issue too but somewhere along the line someone needs to make money to maintain these or to build them.

[@simonpannett8810]

Great to see second use of items that could otherwise be treated as "waste"!!

[@berryfeliz]

Hi Kirsten! Is there a place I can go to learn more about your why you do what you do? I love your videos, been watching for 10 years. I would love to know more about how you and your family decided to live the way you do. Do you have a book? Earlier videos? Thanks!

[@juliemccormack8389]

Congratulations to Brian and his team. Outstanding work using waste materials, creating a very liveable space. Would be interesting to speak to a resident ??

[@alexnguyen1284]

probably some poor person would live there. The idea and concept is "cool" and all, but lets be real, this is more like for government housing the poor.

[@3101home]

Very interesting as well as pleasing to the eye architecture. I would use the word organic in describing the look. I was wondering when discussing the cam locks (at the container corners) if the idea of welding the locks in the lock position was considered ?

[@MundoGrua]

Beautiful building. One of the best properties featured for sure.

[@NicolaasBurgers]

So .. that means that if it's raining then even if you're on the lower levels, as soon as you open the door, you'll get wet because the walkways above are porous?

[@jdubsvr6]

Yeah. Same thing happens when you leave your regular house when it's raining, unless you have a covered walkway everywhere you go....

[@NicolaasBurgers]

@@jdubsvr6Yes except it's either customary (or perhaps even required under some residential codes) for residences to have a small area protected from rain immediately outside the front door. So to have a cover anyway outside the front door and to not make at least part of that non-porous for the benefit of the residents is a bit surprising, is all.

[@questioner1596]

It looks like if the seat gets lowered the pedals will be too close or steering wheel too far. Nice job on keeping it stock looking!

[@marthareyes4024]

Seems dangerous to me? It would be scary to live there.

[@EvergreenOG]

I wonder if the builder removed the floors that have been infused with rat poison.

[@lorie9313]

What would the EMF be like in there with a router, or cell phones? 😮😮😮

[@margaretmodrovsky5607]

I absolutely love your channel! You film interesting things. You rock!

[@fouckyuen]

I'd like to see this combined with mass timber construction. use the container layers in conjunction with some shipping containers to form the necessarily heavy/strong lower floors and then the timber can go to around 17 floors depending on materials and location. there's other green infrastructure that i'd like to see integrated with it as well but that's something that is more involved

[@bronxcarter99]

Can this be brought to TUCSON …. Your sister city……..sheeeeesh!! Tucson needs this!!!!! Also it’s Amazing!! 🎉🎉

[@helengesell2668]

It's absolutely beautiful