Shipping container housing

A company in Amsterdam is responsible for an amazing student housing development. Tempo Housing has developed a way of using shipping containers to creat modular housing. The containers have become 1,000 home units that each have a bathroom and private balcony. The complex also has a cafe, supermarket, office space, and even a sports area. Units are arranged in “blocks,” each block containing a service unit with centralized electricity, internet, and networking systems.


The developers claim that Keetwonen provides all the amenities a student could ever want, and claims 'green' credentials because they are using surplus shipping containers. Keetwonen has integrated a rooftop to accommodate efficient rainwater drainage while providing heat dispersal and insulation for the containers beneath. Designed by TempoHousing it was completed last year. You can view a video of the development if you want to know more.


Will we consider using containers in Australia? I don't think so. I can't begin to imagine how such a development could satisfy Development Application requirements and Building Council of Australia standards. Nevertheless, it's an interesting project.

Shipping container housing

The Design of the New College Village

As mentioned in a previous post, the building that is being constructed by Lipman places a high priority on the building of community. It has been designed to help us build a strong postgraduate community.

The Architects who have been responsible for the design are well-known Sydney Architects Allen Jack+Cottier (AJC), with the driver being Andrew Parker. AJC has been careful to be faithful to the original design brief (which I had prepared based on my experience of residential buildings in Australia, USA and the UK), while constantly looking for ways to enhance the appearance, efficiency and functionality of the building. Just one of the special features that has taken considerable design expertise (and has obviously involved Lipman and various consultants) is the Acoustic screen on the Anzac Parade side of the building. This wonderful feature was originally devised as a means to reduce noise on Anzac Parade and to create an additional quiet outdoor recreation area. The idea for the screen came from Lipman in response to my brief. AJC has created an outstanding design. The screen will reduce noise to such an extent that residents of this air conditioned building could still leave their windows open without experiencing significant noise from the street. The screen will also enhance the appearance of the building as well as the general streetscape at the front door to the University.

The Design of the New College Village

What type of community will the NCV have?

Our aim in building the New College Village is to create a unique community for postgraduate students enrolled at UNSW. Many universities around the world attempt to provide designated postgraduate accommodation (although very few in Australia). However, not many universities have seriously given time to community building. I lived in a postgraduate residence consisting of 200 two and three bedroom apartments whilst a postdoctoral fellow at Indiana University (Bloomington) in the early 1980s. Tulip Tree Apartments (picture opposite) was designed for postgraduates and their families. While it was a nice building, it had no common rooms, no shared facilities and virtually no support programs. The estimated 37 nations represented in the building had to find ways to make friends and support each another. At that time (over 20 years ago) the building offered little more than a mail service and its design did little to foster community building. Other than some long corridors, the elevator and a limited playground, there were few places where residents could meet one another. While I enjoyed my time in Bloomington it was because of the connections we made with other people through the faculty, community, school and the local Methodist church that our lives were enriched. Tulip Tree was just a place to live.


The New College Village has been designed to facilitate community building. We have attempted to recognize that single postgraduate students will want more privacy than undergraduates, but at the same time we have attempted to design the building to allow residents to mill and mix in many shared spaces. We do not want our residents to spend all of their time alone in their rooms. There are four key planks in our strategy to build a vibrant community:

1. We have designed the building to facilitate contact with other people - we will have 14 common rooms, two external courtyards, a rooftop terrace, a games room, business centre, large common room, reading room, private courtyard and convenience store.

2. We will have staff support - every floor will have a residential adviser who has the task of knowing residents, offering pastoral care and academic support and facilitating social interaction.
3. The residents themselves will be encouraged to build an active social programme supported by staff through a residents committee.

4. Alumni and friends of New College will act as mentors and supporters of residents through a fellows programme.

I will provide more details on some of these approaches in future posts.

What type of community will the NCV have?