Scadding Court Community Centre located in downtown Toronto, Canada has absorbed our former Sea Container Cabin Showroom (Model URBAN) for their repurposed Shipping Container Market 707.
This new space will become their largest retail store but if you look at the space closely, it’s completely different from the typical repurposed shipping container retail store.
What Makes Sea Container Cabin Retail Spaces Different than the typical SeaCan Retail Space?
- It’s off-grid using green energy. Solar power is used in this retail space.
- It’s a one-trip container meaning we had this built and shipped to us so this new space will enjoy a very long life.
- It’s a high cube giving us 8 feet of finished height.
- We validated any sprays used to prepare the one time shipment across the ocean was harmless to humans and inert making it suitable for living quarters
- Our spaces are insulated providing comfort in extreme summer and winter weather. But the insulation isn’t just for heat and cold, it also improves sound transfer. If it rains, you can still hold a conversation instead of feeling like you just walked into a heavy metal concert.
- There was ZERO cutting of this sea container cabin maintaining security of our premises. Just pull the steel doors and walk away with peace of mind that your retail space is secure.
- The sliding door entry system spans the entire 20foot length of the container. It is designed as an attractive storefront without modifications to the original container.
4 Guiding Principles to our Sea Container Cabin Construction:
Rule #1:
We do not cut out shipping container walls that would require reinforcements. The URBAN design has ZERO cuts. The OCTOPOD design’s non-structural back walls were removed but those cuts did not require any reinforcing.
Rule #2:
Design all spaces with sustainable living in mind. Even if you wish to remain connected to the electricity grid, keeping energy conservation in mind will help you make the best energy decisions. Plus, it’ll reduce your monthly electricity bills.
Rule #3:
Construct spaces using the best materials available on the market and consider all available alternatives to typical construction materials. TEST, TEST, and RE-TEST these installed materials and validate they pass our expectations for ease of use, quality, and most importantly, work well for our cold winters.
Rule #4:
Our team of engineers, site designers, contractors and our interior designer Rebecca Purdy are capable of great ideas and only the highest quality workmanship. Our team believes in Sea Container Cabins and sustainable living. They’re smart, patient, have attention to detail and most importantly show pride in their workmanship. This combination of character traits happens to attract respectful and pleasant folks to work with so our exciting projects have always remained fun projects.
When we started Sea Container Cabin, our goal was to meet all 4 mandates while proving out that construction costs can come in at half of traditional construction costs. So far, we are proud to say it’s been consistently the case.
Practical shipping container living and working spaces that are appealing to the eye , includes the comforts of modern day living and were constructed at a reduced cost can exist.
Want to Create New Sea Container Retail Space? Build a Cottage? Or Add Living Space to your Backyard?
We’d be happy to share our knowledge with like minded individuals who believe in sustainable living. Reduce, reuse, recycle & renewable off-grid sustainable living does exist. And the Province of Ontario building inspector said it best,
“We weren’t sure what the end result would look like however your Sea Container Cabins challenge the status quo and are tastefully designed and constructed.”
If you have any questions about what we can do for you, or if you’d like a tour of the OCTOPOD or URBAN models to get a feel of what it truly is like living in a Sea Container Cabin, just contact us.
Hello:
I just wondered what you are doing to get the message out to various town councils with respect to your product. Have you for example considered an open house or seminar specifically geared to building inspectors? Also I would ask that you please focus on smaller homes perhaps limited to 1-40′ container. Most municipalities have minimum square footage requirements that eliminate those that want a smaller building footprint. I think it would be in your best interest to petition various councils especially in cottage country, to get them to eliminate the minimum square footage requirements. Your Octagon home is fabulous but still more than someone like me would be interested in. I would simply like that home but much smaller.
Thank you.
There are a number of cities and towns that allow you to sign a waiver to build your own home as long as only you live in it and is not rented out.
Good to know, thanks for sharing.