Slog - Comments on Living in a Box http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box Remember that British one-hit wonder Living in a Box that performed the song Living in a Box off the album Living in a Box? I know—you were trying to forget. But Mithun Architects is keeping the memory alive. They wanted to live out every vagabond’s dream of converting an old freight container into swank digs. But there’s one catch to the metal cargo-conversion fantasy. “It’s hard to beat the cost of wood in the Pacific Northwest,” says Joel Egan of HyBrid, a Seattle-based construction firm commissioned to build prototype residential units. So, rather than steel boxes like some pre-fab projects... Copyright 2008 Fri, 02 May 2008 14:02:50 -0800 Sun, 04 May 2008 18:14:54 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Mr. Poe Remember that English one-hit wonder Living in a Box that performed the song Living in a Box off the album Living in a Box?

No. But I remember Eiffel 65's Living In a Bubble, which was 65 degrees of awesome.

On the units...

My Jew and I checked those out above Rock Bottom on our technically-second date. It felt like IKEA was raping my eyes. That is all. As you were.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012447 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012447 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 14:06:54 -0800 Comment by ... and that's the way you do it 1) Cut a hole in a box
2) Move in to the box
3) Make her open the box

]]> ... and that's the way you do it http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012481 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012481 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 14:17:57 -0800 Comment by Reality Check Slums in the making.

HEY! We should make sure this is what they use down in the hood near the train station by MLK and S Rainier! Perfect!

You gots you some real livin' there!

]]> Reality Check http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012539 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012539 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 14:40:48 -0800 Comment by Hernandez @1 - To be fair, Poe, your Ikea eye-rape experience was more the fault of the furnishings than the design. I've also toured those two above Rock Bottom, and I found the interior decorations to be unforgivably tacky.

]]> Hernandez http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012558 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012558 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 14:49:47 -0800 Comment by Fnarf These are fantastic. Where they really needed this sort of thing is in New Orleans, though, where rapid deployment of new high-standard units was critical (it's too late for New Orleans now, I fear).

But, you know, no one in the history of the universe has ever "passed the savings along to renters". Rents are determined by a market. If they can get more, they will get more.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012569 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012569 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 14:56:38 -0800 Comment by Dominic Holden But, you know, no one in the history of the universe has ever "passed the savings along to renters"

Sigh... I know. Sad but true.

]]> Dominic Holden http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012575 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012575 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 15:01:09 -0800 Comment by Bellevue Ave portable classrooms meet shitty living. how can anyone seriously claim these are better aesthetically, than the condos proposed around seattle.

]]> Bellevue Ave http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012580 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012580 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 15:02:36 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe @4

But that's just it: it all fit so well. I probably wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for the IKEA shit, but no, I would have.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012638 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012638 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 15:37:03 -0800 Comment by Dr_Awesome Holy fuck, those are ugly. I noticed that the cute renderings don't show the fire-escape stairs necessary to reach every squalid box. Who in their right mind is going to want to navigate those stairs during a typical Seattle October-thru-May rainy winter?

And what are they going to look like once the incessant winter rain paints a slimy green sheen of mold down the metal skin? Like a rickety trailer park stacked four high. Ugh

]]> Dr_Awesome http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012646 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012646 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 15:42:02 -0800 Comment by pgreyy Regarding "Living in a Box" by Living in a Box.

My favorite part about the song was that the lyric formed a question.

Am I living in a box?
Am I living in a cardboard box?
Am I living in a box?

DUDE. THE SONG IS CALLED LIVING IN A BOX, YOUR NAME IS LIVING IN A BOX...YOU'RE FUCKING LIVING IN A BOX!!!

Next up. I'm going to demand that Ratt finally tells my why "what goes around comes around." They keep saying they're going to tell me why...and they never do...

]]> pgreyy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012654 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012654 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 15:43:58 -0800 Comment by Dougsf If you're going to let the benefits of prefab outweigh the cons, please, for the love of God, at least put dead space between the units (since the floors and ceilings of these things are presumable already built). It'd only add a few inches to the total height, and would go a long way toward the quality of life inside those things.

The difference between living in a square, prefab little oasis all your own and living in a crappy box is common walls.

]]> Dougsf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012660 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012660 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 15:47:55 -0800 Comment by Dougsf @10 - ha ha ha ha ha

]]> Dougsf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012676 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012676 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 15:54:26 -0800 Comment by whatsThatRumble Wonder what sort of seismic perf you get out of a bunch of stacked-up stapled-together boxes. I'd guess lousy...

]]> whatsThatRumble http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012692 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012692 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 16:03:06 -0800 Comment by Hey wait Dom, you might have made a little error...

The units in the first picture were built by RAFN. But the unit order in the Unico project was awarded to HyBrid. I'm not sure that they'll be using the same design.

]]> Hey wait http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012712 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012712 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 16:13:53 -0800 Comment by Dominic Holden @ 14) The units in the first picture are also featured on HyBrid's Web site. http://www.hybridseattle.com/

]]> Dominic Holden http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012725 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012725 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 16:21:15 -0800 Comment by cmaceachen Prefab can be be a very economical and scalable way to create housing. Since most of the work is done in a factory, tolerances and quality are better controlled, material waste is greatly cut, and strength is generally higher than structures built on-site. Mithun's design seems a little lacking, but that's based on a crappy Sketch-up rendering and a single unit mock-up meant to examine interior space, not the exterior. They can do whatever they want though- cut openings to make spaces higher or wider and connect units with elements built on-site.
www.fabprefab.com/

]]> cmaceachen http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012729 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012729 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 16:22:15 -0800 Comment by David Sucher What Ecclesiastes said:

Prefabricated homes --- every generation's dream.

]]> David Sucher http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012802 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012802 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 16:57:47 -0800 Comment by David Sucher Then here:

Pre-fab housing -- why not?.

]]> David Sucher http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012803 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012803 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 16:58:36 -0800 Comment by Lucky What would a couple of these cost? I've got space in my back yard for these.

]]> Lucky http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012844 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012844 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 17:23:22 -0800 Comment by crazycatguy's husband For really modular prefab, take a look at the Nakagin Capsule Tower, built in in Tokyo in 1972. Saw it on a TV show a few months back and it stuck with me.

]]> crazycatguy's husband http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012845 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012845 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 17:24:40 -0800 Comment by Y.F. So stacking a bunch of single-wide mobile homes up into a rabbit hutch is supposed to be innovative? Why not just put them in a trailer park?

]]> Y.F. http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012889 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012889 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 17:55:54 -0800 Comment by infrequent @10, that's hilarious.

maybe the ratt song is a question, too.

]]> infrequent http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012902 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012902 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 18:03:26 -0800 Comment by unPC you mention "the construction time decreases by three to six months—reducing the window of investment risk and adding months to collect rental fees"

um did you forget interest on the loans?
the owner/developer is paying hefty interest monthly from acquisition till sale or rental...that's why having more "community design review meetings" that drag the process out antoher six months or taking a year for permittng drives them crazy....if it takes a year to get permits on a $10 million project....that adds a year of interest ....that is $500K to a million dollars...all of which gets built into the cost of housing.

Cost of money dude. A/k/a the vig. Time is money. So that's the MAIN reason why reducing the time of construction is important.

Of coursse since we in Seattle love to o debate everythign till everyone is heard from then heard from again and again....on 520 the viaduct and light rail or anything ....there's little sense of time ....much less time baing valuable....

]]> unPC http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012905 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1012905 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 18:08:34 -0800 Comment by holz habitat 67 was also prefab. pricetag was ginormous.

i'll say this again and again til i'm blue, single and doublewides are not the answer. this box, while it may be interesting, doesn't scale up well.

and mithun doesn't rock. just ask those in the know.

]]> holz http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013065 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013065 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 21:37:14 -0800 Comment by britpop guy They had another big hit which was called "gatecrashing"

]]> britpop guy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013074 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013074 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 21:50:46 -0800 Comment by Greg I've always wanted to make a living space out of a shipping container. It would be an interesting challenge.

]]> Greg http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013096 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013096 Boom Fri, 02 May 2008 22:51:09 -0800 Comment by Wolf I don't think the design is all THAT bad, but then I try to live pretty simply. "No more than what you need" has always struck me as a good motto.

]]> Wolf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013290 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013290 Boom Sat, 03 May 2008 14:51:14 -0800 Comment by Wolf Just testing...my comments seem to be disappearing.

]]> Wolf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013302 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013302 Boom Sat, 03 May 2008 15:10:58 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle OMG ... Seattle is broke.

It's come to this - we're living in trailers now ...

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013369 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013369 Boom Sat, 03 May 2008 18:29:53 -0800 Comment by Donolectic The problem with this design is that they're not stacked 100 high surrounded by green space.

]]> Donolectic http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013565 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/living_in_a_box#c1013565 Boom Sun, 04 May 2008 18:14:54 -0800