Shipping Container Home on Narrow Lot - Conventionally-Built Main Level and Two 53’ Shipping Containers on Upper Level, Boulder, Colorado








Construction Process
Drawings
Location
About M. Gerwing Architects
About Gebau - Structural Engineer

ArchitectMark Gerwing, M. Gerwing Architects
ContractorOwner
Structural EngineerGebau, Boulder
Interior CabinetryLaak Woodworks
ContainersTwo 53 ft
Bedrooms4
Bathrooms4
Area4000 sqft
Price$3,250,000 (2020)
LocationBoulder, Colorado
Year2020





This shipping container home on narrow lot in Boulder, Colorado, is one-of-a-kind inside and out—just like its former owners. Comprised of two shipping containers, reclaimed materials, and other handcrafted details, the rectilinear structure occupies a narrow lot at the base of Flagstaff Mountain. The homeowners and designers, Mark Gelband and Courtney Loveman, spent years battling zoning ordinances to build the home in a way that reflected their blended families and world view.


The site once contained a 1950s home the couple hoped to replace with a funky, post-and-beam style residence. However, new setback rules reduced the buildable area on the already narrow site. "The lot is approximately 50 feet wide and 190 feet long but with only about 20 feet of buildable width." explains Gelband. Other local ordinances, including solar shadow rules, limited how the second story could be designed as well.


After disputes with neighbors and city officials derailed their original plans, the couple considered other ideas to fit within the tight lot—that's when they turned to shipping containers for inspiration. "I've been a long-time housing advocate in Boulder and very critical of the NIMBYism in town. So I said to Courtney one evening: Let's just redesign within our by-right building envelope. Shipping containers match the rectilineal nature of the lot. We'll do the coolest thing we can."


After the couple worked with local architect Mark Gerwing to dial in the original design, they set off to do much of the building work themselves. "We had our hands in designing and building everything: From the house itself to the light fixtures, kitchen cabinets, staircases, bathroom vanities, and more," says Gelband. Friends and other contacts contributed their services to finish out the home, which was also built to offer net-zero energy consumption.


Spread out across just over 4,000 square feet, the home comes with four bedrooms and four full bathrooms. The .22-acre lot offers rooftop views in multiple directions, including iconic Flatirons to the south, unobstructed Red Rocks and Foothills to the north, and eastern vistas over Downtown Boulder.

"We have lower and bigger windows on the east and north, with smaller and higher windows on the west," he adds. "Cool air also circulates from the basement, where the ambient temperature stays between 68–74 degrees Fahrenheit." Rooftop solar panels, in-floor radiant heating, and closed-cell spray foam insulation add to the energy-efficient design.


Loveman, who collected the objects and furniture from various places over the years, describes the home's interior design as more of a feeling, not a look. "The house is a vessel for the lovingly eccentric dynamic within our family," she says. "Mark and I don’t understand ‘polite design’ because the urge to make and share things that express our quirky worldview is so strong. The fact that so many of our more traditional friends are also inspired by it has been an unexpected reward."


"Unconventional design was a by-product of the effort, not our goal," adds Loveman. She often references a quote from Hanya Yanagahira, editor in chief of the New York Times Style Magazine. "Genuine aesthetic idiosyncrasy isn’t born from a conscious choice to do something different," Yanagahira wrote. "Rather, it’s the product of someone who can’t imagine doing it any other way."



Construction Process





This shipping container house is located on a very long and narrow site in west Boulder and consists of a main level conventionally-built structure and two 53’ shipping containers acting as the upper level.

The site’s buildable dimensions, 20’ x 200’, suggested a long and narrow building and the homeowner’s desire for an ecologically-sustainable, unconventional building, lead to the use of shipping containers. The containers hold the bedrooms - master suite in one and two children’s bedrooms in the other.



Drawings





Location





Address 505 College Ave, Boulder, CO 80302, USA



About M. Gerwing Architects





M. Gerwing Architects is a Boulder, Colorado based architecture firm specializing in residential design - new custom homes, renovations and additions. We are experts at tackling the most difficult projects, with challenging building sites, difficult zoning and historic designation restrictions and unconventional conditions. Founded in 2007, M. Gerwing Architects creates sustainable buildings that reflect their landscapes and owners, making spaces that are vibrant and timeless.

M. Gerwing Architects is a full-service, design-oriented architecture office in Boulder, Colorado. We have executed projects in Boulder, Denver, San Francisco, Portland, New York and Chicago as well as all along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. We have designed a number of different project types with special emphasis on residential design and historic preservation/adaptation.

The office is committed to an intensive process of continual exploration of shaping spaces – how we use them, how we imagine them, how they reside in our memory.

Approach

We approach each project as a unique synthesis of client, site, budget, schedule and the opportunities and tensions that arise between them. Overall we strive for balance – in design, in process and in managing our projects in private and public realms. With our extensive experience in ushering projects forward in the City of Boulder, Boulder County and through various zoning, historic preservation and other approval processes, we can guide our clients toward realizable designs that meet their schedule and budgets and still create exciting and fulfilling architecture.

All of our projects are brought into focus by carefully listening and studying the problem at hand and then creating a guiding set of ideas or principles for the building. Beyond solving the problems of function and providing beautiful places, we always strive to transcend these notions and make a project that far exceeds our client’s and our own expectations. We believe in being involved in all phases of a project’s creation – from initial ideas and dreams through design and construction, to the final finishes and colors. We work with a number of local contractors or ACI design:build to execute our client’s designs, spending considerable time in the field to insure that the design and vision of the project is well-built and professionally managed.

The same set of ideas that guide the structure also inform every detail and the selection of every piece of hardware, every tile. For remodels and renovations, we incorporate the ideas and design of the existing building into this mix and create buildings that are new and old, timeless and timely.

We believe passionately about sustainability and making sure all of our buildings establish and maintain a healthy place on the Earth. We utilize all aspects of green construction and energy-savings technologies and techniques in design and construction. We strive to maintain as much of the existing building within our new designs - the greenest building is one standing.

The studio is headed by Mark Alan Gerwing with over thirty years of experience designing a variety of building types from large, mixed-use projects, restaurants and commercial spaces to custom, single-family homes. Mark personally guides every project from initial design through construction to insure that every aspect of a project is carefully considered and fully coordinated.

Mark received a Master of Architecture from Yale University and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Kentucky. His professional experience encompasses working for a number of renowned architects in Italy, Boston and Chicago prior to moving to Colorado. Mark is licensed in Colorado and is a LEED AP professional as well as a certified City of Boulder Greenpoints professional. He has been the local coordinating architect for the Boulder Valley Branch of Habitat for Humanity, was the past Chairman of the City of Boulder’s Landmarks Board, and currently is the Vice-Chairperson of the Boulder County Historic Preservation Advisory Board.

Mark is joined by Jim Walker and Meri Bacus. Each team member brings their unique combination of talent and experience to bear on various projects.

Please feel free to contact us regarding potential projects, even if you're still doing preliminary research. We can help you answer questions like: What is allowed for my location and what is not? Should I build out or up? How long does the design and construction process take? Do I need an architect or a design build service?

Address2805 Wilderness Pl #500, Boulder, CO 80301, United States
Phone+13038869872
Emailmark@mgerwingarch.com
Website http://www.mgerwingarch.com/


Hours Open
Monday8:30AM–5:30PM
Tuesday8:30AM–5:30PM
Wednesday8:30AM–5:30PM
Thursday8:30AM–5:30PM
Friday8:30AM–5:30PM
SaturdayClosed
SundayClosed


About Gebau - Structural Engineer





We provide insightful, collaborative structural engineering design solutions for the creation of safe, healthy, and inspiring structures.

Address168 Centennial Pkwy Ste. 180, Louisville, CO 80027, United States
Phone+13034448545
Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/gebau_con.struct
Emailmail@gebau.com
Website http://www.gebau.com/


Hours Open
Monday8AM–5:00PM
Tuesday8AM–5:00PM
Wednesday8AM–5:00PM
Thursday8AM–5:00PM
Friday8AM–5:00PM
SaturdayClosed
SundayClosed


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Shipping Container Home on Narrow Lot - Conventionally-Built Main Level and Two 53’ Shipping Containers on Upper Level, Boulder, Colorado
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