The Salvador House
Research for a Future Build
Timeline: 12 weeks
My Roles: User Research
Tools: Sketchup, Photoshop, Premiere Pro
Background
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With the passing of my father in 2019, my family and I thought about selling our home and testing out the market. We had our house appraised and it wasn’t the price point we were anticipating. So we decided to stay.
I’ve been intrigued with shipping container homes for a long time. But would always worry about money and land. When I did research on land around Washington I came to the point of realization that land wasn’t cheap, especially in the Seattle area. Most importantly there wasn’t land close to home.
As I continued to do more research on builds, watching tutorials, and getting even more inspired. The idea popped up during my special topics class. And I wanted to build a shipping container home. Well, at least a blueprint. What intrigues me the most is that they are durable, affordable, and with the right aesthetics can look like a modern home. The shipping containers also remind me of the modular look of Case Study homes built in California in the 1950s
Goals
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The first half of the quarter: Research, attending lectures, and speaking to people in the industry.
The second half of the quarter: Dig a little deeper in SketchUp and build a blueprint with the exact dimensions of the actual size of the container home.
To build an environment and container home in SketchUp
Obtain a version of Sketchup and learning how to use it
to learn how to use SketchUp and tap into SketchUp Pro. Create a blueprint of a shipping container home for a future build. And have a better understanding of the construction process. From research to build
Process
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I started by using a Pinterest board I created with different types of container home builds.
I took the inspiration board on Pinterest and picked a few pieces from each home I liked.
I then started sketching on paper.
I wanted to research at the beginning of how SketchUp works.
Knowing what the tools are and how to use them.
Once I was familiar with each tool, I started looking at tutorials. And picked the ones that made sense for this particular build.
Learning Sketchup somewhat felt like other programs I’ve used. The only thing is. It wasn’t an adobe program. SketchUp is a web-based program and also provided a free version.
As I got deeper into SketchUp. I found out that there was a 15-day pro version for first-time users. I strategically used those 15 days and worked up to a few days before my presentation day. After the trial version of 15 days you lose everything. It was a scary situation. That being said I made sure to start screen grabbing everything. And at the end screen record a timelapse of my work.
Sketch Iterations
Shipping Container Timelapse Build
Solution
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To dig a little deeper on the construction side of things and also have a better understanding of how shipping containers are built. I attended a lecture in Kenmore, Wa. The lecture was about the “Missing Middle” It was about cottage housing, duplexes, accessory dwelling units, and other small housing types that were once common in our communities. But have all disappeared due to new construction. Sitting in there was amazing and just absorbing everyone's energy and insights on small spaces gave me a better understanding of why I wanted to do this project.
The idea of not having to build another cookie-cutter home that looks the same around town is unique in itself. You can share with the world this one-off home of yours. To reuse and give new life to a used shipping container. For a shipping container’s life. Returning to a boat to be reloaded is not what they’re built for. It’s a one done operation because shipping containers range in different items. From hazardous waste to plush toys. And companies don’t want the risk of people becoming ill.
Project Summary
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Not only was this school project successful. But It was a project for me to understand my surroundings, wake up a little bit from what society pushes you to be, and steer away from that push for what you want to be. And with the nation’s rising costs of homes and my mother getting a little older with age, the container home idea is a great solution to staying closer to home and be closer to mom as she grows older. My mom is what’s keeping us all together. With my dad’s passing, I can tell things are hard sometimes. To leave her all alone is not an option. So we choose to stay close because she deserves it.
As for my next steps to this build. It’s going to take a few years (I’m giving myself a 7-10 year buffer). I’m excited and can’t wait till this project starts, but for now I still want to continue researching and collect ideas, and just recently found out about case study homes that have brought more into to the plate. I might or might not use the idea of my current blueprint. But what I do know is that I have a better understanding of what it’s going to take moving forward.