Shipping Container Homes Update: A Florida Connection

Peter DeMaria, the architect responsible for championing the reuse of Intermodal Steel Building Units (ISBUs) aka "shipping containers" for housing, has a Tampa connection. Tampa Armature Works, an 85-year-old Florida company, makes the ISBUs to Mr. DeMaria's specs and ships them to California. If you believe as we do that the ISBUs can be an economical and aesthetically pleasing quick fix to public housing and would like to learn more and see how they are made and installed, please click this link to a Bob Villa video. The 6-chapter video chronicles the building of hurricane resistant low income housing using ISBUs in St. Petersburg. It offers an exciting and informative look at how the ISBU exceeds the Florida hurricane building code and will squash any reservations about using them here. The chapter on the NASA spray-on ceramic is quite fascinating. The thin coating has an amazing R-factor of 20 and is shown being sprayed on site.

MVB believes using the fruits of NASA technology and recycling shipping containers is a viable quick-fix solution to closing the affordable housing gap and supplying much needed public housing in Dade County and urge its usage.

A Solution to Miami Public Housing Crisis: "Logical Homes"

California architect Peter DeMaria whom MVB championed in the August posting "Public Housing Answer..." because we believe his recycled shipping containers would make a quick and affordable solution to our current public housing crisis, is launching a new company called Logical Homes. The first thing you'll notice about these affordable "pre-fab" homes (top picture) is that the shipping containers have been incorporated into more conventional designs, completely concealing them from view.

"Similar to the lack of affordable home situation in Miami," Mr. DeMaria says in an email to MVB, "the same exists here in LA. We have been fortunate to be working with a member of the City of LA and his contacts within the Mayor's office to create affordable and high quality homes. One of our biggest goals is to make the dream of home ownership a reality for many people."

He goes on to state that the "affordability index" in LA "floats around the 15% level. What that means is, only 15% of the people in LA can afford to purchase a home here! What are the other 85% going to do is the question we are hoping to answer with our new company. We've got single family and multifamily projects that are designed and permitted."

He adds, "I also attached a photo of the construction progress of a more contemporary home here in Redondo Beach (second picture). I may eventually send you some shots of the mixed use/mult-family project in Venice/LA; we broke ground on it yesterday. It all sounds much easier than it is when it comes to getting over the hurdles in place here in LA (like Miami) but none the less, we're committed to doing some great things for many people.

"Our Florida office move will take place sometime after our company launch in late October.

"Your concern for your fellow citizens and Miami is admirable, keep it up! Stay in touch and keep us abreast of any news and thanks again for the article.

Peter DeMaria
Architect"

MVB is excited about DeMaria's innovative ideas and his concern for creating affordable homes. We thank him for his personal response and can only add, "Get thee here ASAP!"

You can see a short video on the construction of one of these homes here.

Peter DeMaria, architect extraordinaire, to Miami's Public Housing Rescue?

Architect Peter DeMaria, the man responsible for turning used shipping containers into homes, is coming to Florida. Because a posting by this blog suggesting Mr. DeMaria would be the perfect solution to solving Miami's public housing shortage was discovered on the net (see 8/2 comments section for that topic), we were encouraged to contact him directly-- which is part of the blog's mission statement of affecting change (see request for President Jimmy Carter to head the county's corrupt and incompetent public housing department). Following is the email exchange:

From Peter DeMaria:
Thanks for your advocating and comments. It sounds like you may have struck a chord down there in Miami. The University of Miami School of Architecture is a headquarters of sort to "New Urbanism". It's so close to you that it could be worth a visit. Our office has been researching a few potential office locations in Florida but we haven't selected our final location just yet. Your ideas about the "workforce housing" could not have been more accurate. This condition is not only in Miami but here in LA as well. My research has shown that just about every metropolitan area is experiencing some level of this lack of housing at an affordable price point. While our custom home project in Redondo was not "affordable housing" per se, it is being constructed at far less than average and affordable cost per square foot. The response to it has been overwhelming and from all parts of the US and as far away as Italy. We think that it will open some doors and minds to a new technology that can translate into affordable building construction.

Your platform for dialogue regarding affordable housing that won't blow away in the next hurricane is a real service to many people in the Southeastern U.S. - great job, keep it alive! I'll keep you posted on what
we've got going on and please stay in touch. Once again thanks for your support.

All the best,

Peter

Peter DeMaria AIA
DeMaria Design Assoc.
941 Manhattan Beach Blvd.
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
T: 310 802-1270
F: 310 802-1260
www.demariadesign.com

8/8 reply:
Dear Peter,

Thanks for the email. Regarding "workforce housing" in Miami, it is so bad here that the school board (4th largest in US) is considering selling property to build up a reserve of cash to help teachers put down payments on their homes. It is so bad here that the school board can't hire new teachers because they can't find affordable housing in the county. With record numbers of teachers retiring, a crisis in education is predicted because new teachers can't find a place to live. It's architects like you who think outside the "box" that could be the answer to a whole lot of social problems. If you move to Florida, I would suggest putting your office in Miami. Aside from getting more than enough work on the affordable housing side, you can also service clientele with enough money to buy upscale IBUs and other more traditional designs (or non-traditional), money-empowered jet setters who buy condos and homes in Miami so that they have a place to crash when traveling or investment. Plus, there are more than enough developers here who could be your Medicis. Put your office where all the political power is and that is in downtown Miami which is undergoing a building boom of high rise chi-chi condos and office towers that rivals Beijing thanks in part to the soon to open nearly half-billion dollar Carnival Center for the Performing Arts (Cesar Pelli). I went to UM and yes, it has a great school of architecture, but it is off the beaten trail and highly academic (besides, they have been non-existent in this housing solution-- no statements have been issued, no comments solicited from the media). Again, thanks for the kind words, and best of luck in your endeavors.

Miami's Public Housing Answer-- provided no one figures out a way to rip off the public.

Leave it to Californians to show us the way. Architect Peter DeMaria is using old shipping containers and building homes from them. They are half the cost of a typical California home (approximately $125.00/s.f. instead of $250.00/s.f.). Seems the trade deficit has created a surplus of these babies known in the business as IBUs (Intermodal Building Units). Insulation is a NASA developed ceramic coating a little thicker than a credit card which is sprayed on the inside and outside of the IBUs. Some homeowners are spray painting them with bright automotive colors.

When stacked, it is possible to create roof heights of 20' or more. This seems like one answer to creating public housing in Miami-- provided there is a system of checks and balances to keep corrupt officials and bureaucrats from stealing public dollars allocated for these projects-- which the recent Miami Herald series "House of Lies" led by reporter Debbie Cenziper points out will be an uphill battle. Used IBUs now cost about $2,000.00 each but once word gets out that there is a demand for them, I'm sure the price will go up.

Looking at some of the houses already built, this kind of contruction might also be a solution to building affordable luxury workforce housing-- an oxymoron if ever there was one. As an example of what is possible, a 3,500 s.f. IBU home was built in California that has 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, with 20' ceilings for $125.00/s.f. The ironic thing about all of this? The used IBUs come from Florida. That's my opinion. What's yours?