31.1.2011
Bayside Marina Hotel in Kanagawa, Japan
El Bayside Marina Hotel es un hotel ubicado en la costa de Yokohama. El proyecto utilizó el contenedor estándar de 40 pies (aproximadamente 2.4m x 12m) como unidad modular. Cada unidad contiene una habitación simple, mientras que dos unidades apiladas contienen una habitación tipo "dúplex". El conjunto tiene un total de 31 habitaciones. Utilizando no sólo la dimensión de los contenedores estándar, sino también su sistema de almacenaje, las unidades fueron diseñadas para ser transportadas directamente por barcos contenedores. Sus componentes se fabricaron en Japón y el montaje y las terminaciones se realizaron en Tailandia. Luego de arribar por vía marítima, las unidades fueron simplemente atornilladas en su lugar y vinculadas a los servicios e instalaciones, lo que permitió una construcción rápida y económica.
Container-dimension Cottages
Bayside Marina Hotel Yokohama is a project for a seaside cottage hotel. The project uses the standard 40 feet shipping container (approximately 2.4m x 12m) as its modular unit. One unit provides a single ‘flat’ type room, while two stacked units provides the ‘maisonette’ type, with a combined total of thirty-one rooms. By using not only the standard container dimension, but also the same locking hardware, the units were designed to be transported directly by container ship. Assembly and finishing of the units was carried out in Thailand while the site in Japan was prepared in advance. After arrival by ship, the units were simply bolted into place and connected to utilities, allowing for quick and economical on-site completion.
The ocean side of the site faces onto a public park, and in order to avoid having all the hotels windows facing this park and thereby adversely affecting its atmosphere, we separated the units and aligned each volume differently. As well, by separating the units, we could also provide the space necessary to provide a high level of sound insulation at the same time as accommodating a wall thickness restricted by the size the container module. By using non-welded joints in construction we allowed for the possibility of the re-use of the unit in the future. What has resulted is a natural continuity between the arrangement of the units and the ocean view of yachts moored at the adjacent marina.
Simple unit construction and simple rigid structure
Each guest building is a two-story stack of forty-foot sized shipping containers. The rigid component is composed of only L-175mmx175mmx12mm members, so it is very simple to fit into the assembly. The edge of each L-shaped member is fit into a wall, resulting in a very thin wall and allowing, within the external size determined by the container, the interior space to be made larger. The entrance building is a rigid frame composed of solid square steel members measuring 100mm x 100mm and H-200mm x 100mm x 5.5mm x 8mm. Because the column base is embedded in foundation it was possible to use 100mm columns. This rigid frame was finished with very little plan drawing. The columns are solid, so they could be connected to the beams without a diaphragm, which resulted in very little labour being used in assembly. There is no eccentricity in the beams so there were really no difficulties in the structural calculation either. With the short space of just a few weeks to produce an executable design, and though the steel frame does have a slight excess of material, we thought we might try this worry free, simple rigid frame proposal.