Page 60 - ArchDC_Spring 2021

Entrance to the Sea Container House.

The Humble
The Humble

Shipping Container
Shipping Container

Embraces Luxury
Embraces Luxury

And it’s Green, Too

by Denise Liebowitz

“Oh no, nothing like that,” Arun Arumugaswamy
replied emphatically when asked if the inside of his
new home built out of shipping containers sounded
like a tin can. “When the kids crash into the walls it’s
more like a gong,” he said, sounding cheerful. Arun
and his wife, Archana Shah, and their two toddlers
took up container living six months ago in Takoma
Park, Maryland, on a wooded site overlooking Sligo
Creek. It is, however, definitely not your grandfather’s
container. This 3,500-square-foot, light-filled home is
elegant, eco-conscious, and visually stunning.
The couple first began thinking about shipping
containers during their honeymoon in New Zealand
where they came across an attractive new shopping
center built from the corrugated steel boxes. “The
repurposing, sustainability, and design possibilities
appealed to us,” said Arumugaswamy. “The idea had
been in the back of our minds for a while.” When the
couple relocated to the Washington area they began
their search for an architect who had experience with
containers and quickly came across Travis Price, FAIA,
principal of Travis Price Architects.
A prolific and visionary designer, Price became
interested in the possibilities of shipping containers Project: Sea Container House,
years ago as an architecture student, but it was not Takoma Park, MD
until 2014 that he had an opportunity to try his hand
at Washington’s first residential container project. Architect: Travis Price Architects
Structural Engineer: Silman
“A client with a deteriorating house in Brookland [a Civil Engineer: Snyder & Associates
neighborhood in Northeast Washington] that he rented Energy Modeler: PEG, LLC
to Catholic University students asked for my help General Contractor: KGP Build

58 THE HUMBLE SHIPPING CONTAINER