Call us: 555-555-5555
Containerpedia

Blog Post

Cargo Containers Becoming Art with Hydraulic Doors

Oscar Martinez • Oct 12, 2017
Cargo Containers Becoming Art with Hydraulic Doors

Matthew Quilty and Adam Kalkin from Industrial Zombie's are doing incredible things with cargo containers. I first became aware of their cargo container artwork from a YouTube video by Kirsten Dirksen (I highly recommend following her on YouTube).

In the video they mention they are driven by the goal of changing people's paradigm in terms of what they view as art. And from what I have seen, they are doing just that by making regular cargo containers into incredibly sophisticated and beautiful structures.

Their use of hydraulics within the structure of their cargo container artwork turn steel containers into a fascinating and mind challenging structures. Not only do they use hydraulics but a number of other out of the box solutions (like automatic doors), to turn their containers into a thing of beauty.

With the number of cargo containers resting in the United States, which they estimate to be around half a billion, with seventy percent of those in light to no use, it only makes sense to use these cargo containers for building. Not only is it eco friendly (essentially recycling) but they are incredibly structurally sound and offer a fair amount of space (an 8x40 cargo container offers 320 square feet of space).

I hope you enjoy the pictures below along with the video that Kirsetn Dirksen posted. You are in for a treat in cargo container design and will be amazed at how they incorporate hydraulic doors into their functional artwork.

Hydraulic Door Cargo Container Artwork
Hydraulic Door Cargo Container Artwork
By Oscar Martinez 10 Nov, 2019
What is a One Trip Shipping Container?
By Oscar Martinez 03 Nov, 2019
An easy to understand guide for beginners who are interested in buying a shipping container.
By Oscar Martinez 02 Apr, 2019
The 16 types of cargo containers listed, pictured and explained.
By Oscar Martinez 01 Apr, 2019
A fascinating story about two Phoenix architects that built an amazing 8 room apartment complex out of 16 cargo containers.
By Oscar Martinez 21 Mar, 2019
Watch manufacturers in China produce cargo containers from start to finish.
By Oscar Martinez 27 Feb, 2019
I really love this new trend of utilizing shipping containers to express art.  I was inspired after reviewing a number of container based art projects, to put together a compilation of the brilliance behind this trend.  I admire the  imagination that was used by the artists and applaud them all.The thing I love most about shipping container art is that it is a super creative use for the large number of shipping containers that rest unused and abandoned in Container Depots (click to view an old blog on what a container depot is) throughout the United States.Why not use these boxes to express creativity and to brighten someone else's day. I hope you enjoy the video and dream on! 
By Oscar Martinez 08 Feb, 2019
Shipping Containers make excellent building blocks.A recent trend has many entrepreneurs and large corporations utilizing shipping containers for restaurant locations.From Chick-fil-a to Starbucks the environmental and structural advantage of using shipping containers is huge.I personally hope to see more people utilize this idea.  Enjoy the video we made, along with the individual pictures below!   
By Oscar Martinez 06 Feb, 2019
A deep dive into what a wwt (wind & watertight) cargo container is, what it is used for and what the grading system looks like.
By Oscar Martinez 03 Feb, 2019
A prototype hybrid house, also known as the Tim Palen Studio at Shadow Mountain is the first repurposed container home permitted and built in the Mojave Desert. Based on the fuel-efficient Prius automobile engineering concept, the residence combines the energy and production efficiencies of diverse pre-engineered building and energy systems working together seamlessly to produce a smooth-running hybrid green machine for living.The residence is a prototype of 2nd generation pre-fab design and a kit-like housing product developed by ecotechbuild, the design-build subsidiary of ecotechdesign. It is constructed from 5-20′ long recycled cargo containers that were fabricated and finished in Los Angeles and then shipped to the site where they were erected and stacked 2 high in 15 minutes each. All site work, including foundations and utility placement was constructed at the remote desert site during container fabrication in Los Angeles.
By Oscar Martinez 02 Feb, 2019
I found this awesome Bob Villa video where he interviews David Cross from TAW (Tampa Armature Works).They have an in depth conversation about shipping container construction. The conversation starts off by discussing the 700,000 abandoned shipping containers in United States ports.  These containers are left behind due to the trade imbalance.Why not use the abandoned shipping containers as building blocks for construction?They do.  He calls these structures Intermodal Steel Building Units (ISBU). They not only build homes out of these shipping containers but other structures with the use of I-beams and plasma torches to cut out sections of the container.The use of the I-Beams allow the engineer a lot of flexibility in what they choose to build with these sturdy boxes.He shows Bob something he calls the "Worlds Largest Toolbox,"
Show More
Share by: