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Cargotecture

From "Assembly Required"
episode DASR-207

(Continued from page 1)

Cargotecture Set Up

It's move day for the Cargotecture team and the weather is not on their side. It's another rainy day in Washington and the ground is too saturated to make the move an easy one.

Fred Bohn is in charge of moving the two 6,000 pound containers from Stageplan to their resting place at the bottom of a hill. Fred and his team separate and lift the modules onto a flatbed truck, and drive them to their final destination.

Figure D

Figure E

Figure F

Figure G

Figure H

Unfortunately, a 20-ton crane is too big to maneuver down Ronnie's steep, winding road. The team has brought along ordinary farm equipment to get the job done. They have an excavator to lift the three-ton containers. The soggy conditions, combined with the weight of the crane, make an easy lift impossible. So instead, the crew drags the container off the flatbed with a bulldozer (figure D).

The container was built to be roughed up on the open seas, but the home inside the containers wasn't. One slip could spell disaster. The container starts tipping dangerously, but Fred gains control and eases it to the ground. The crew then begins the muddy journey to the bottom of the hill.

Joel and Rob's cargo container finally reaches the bottom of the hill. Instead of clearing the whole site, they wanted to preserve as much of the natural beauty as possible. This means maneuvering around a tree instead of cutting it down.

Keeping with the eco-friendly design, the team is using a pin foundation (figure E). This system will disturb less of the natural environment than a traditional foundation. The crew's plan is to lift the container with the excavator and place it directly on the foundation. But of course, the mud poses another problem. Because of the mud and the size of the equipment, the crew doesn't have enough leverage to get the container up cleanly. Instead, the crew lifts the container one end at a time and walks it onto the foundation.

On day two, the containers are set and it's time to put the finishing touches on Studio 320. They re-install the windows (figure F) and lay down an organic green roof. The organic roof not only helps the bright orange container blend in to its surroundings, but it's functional. The roof will help retain rainwater, reducing the need for drainage. During the day it will heat up, radiating heat into the space at night.

After only a few days, the container is finally ready to live in (figure G) and Ronnie Alexander can enjoy his new getaway in the woods (figure H)!

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