by VEG-HEAD on JULY 6, 2010
The conversion of a 10-by-20-foot shipping container into an eco-friendly mid-town office is a fine example of workplace recycling.
The corrugated steel container, near the corner of Spadina and St. Claire Ave. in Toronto, has been retrofitted with cool birch veneer interior walls, two built-in work stations, a large five-foot-square window, polished mahogany plywood flooring and a green roof with a patio, giving it the feel of a hip conversion space.
The project has won environmental kudos by minimizing the use of new materials such as lumber and siding. The container itself would have ultimately been shipped back to Asia, melted down and recycled, an energy-intensive process with high greenhouse gas emissions.
“I think people are really drawn to the idea of reusing these containers because they see four walls, a floor, and a roof ready to go,” said Alex Bartlett, of Bsq. Landscape Design. “It seems like a crime that they’re so underutilized.”
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