Recent years have demonstrated a substantial and sustained increase in the number of student applicants throughout Denmark. As the number of students continues to grow, additional student housing will be needed to accommodate them. There are few strategies that allow cities to expand. Yet, Copenhagen’s harbor remains an underutilized and underdeveloped area at the heart of the city. By introducing a building typology optimized for harbor cities we can introduce a housing solution that will keep students at the heart of the city.
Meanwhile, the standardized container system has been developed to allow goods to be transported by road, water or air, to anywhere in the world in a complex network of operators at a very low cost. By making use of the standard container system we are offered the framework for an extremely flexible building typology.
By stacking 9 container units in a circle, we can create 12 studio residences which frame a centralized winter garden; this is used as a common meeting place for students. The housing is also buoyant, like a boat, so that can be replicated in other harbor cities where affordable housing is needed, but space is limited.
