by Brianna Crandall — September 29, 2010—A new office building in Providence, Rhode Island, illustrates the practicality of the green building movement in a slow economy. The Box Office is comprised of 12 office/studio spaces constructed from 32 recycled steel shipping containers on the abandoned Harris Lumber site.
Developer Peter Case calls the three-story facility the largest commercial container building in the U.S., and says the building team did not try to hide the fact that it is constructed from rescued shipping containers.
The Box Office is intended to be a model of a small, green building, using 25 percent less energy than a conventional new office building. The well-insulated building utilizes high-performing windows, a decentralized HVAC system comprised of highly efficient air-to-air heat pumps, a combination of overhead lighting with daylight response sensors, and eco-friendly interior finishes, among other green features.
The project was reportedly a collaborative process from the beginning, involving architects from Distill Studio (the Distill Studio Web site offers photos and videos of the project), builder Stack Design Build, and developer Truth Box Inc.
