Whilst studying on sustainable projects, one of the issues which really clicked with me was that of Housing Shortage. Many countries and regions globally are struggling to find a viable solution to fix their Housing Issues, In Singapore we face a unique issue of struggling with finding land to build housing on. However the answer never really seems to be a straightforward one.
One of my ideas revolve around fixing our Housing Shortage by taking advantage of our Excess in supply of Shipping Containers (https://cargonow.world/excess-of-13-million-shipping-containers-in-2022/)
Here is a very brief overview of my idea
Design and Idea Credits: (Chua M., 2021, Nakagin Capsule Tower: History and Theory of Architecture, Singapore Polytechnic Student of Diploma in Architecture)
In fact, similar has actually been done in Japan but had been halted by a plentiful of underlying issues ( Mostly caused by mismanagement of the property )
It can quite clearly be seen that the amount of Housing Units that can be prepared is an abundance in comparison to its size, furthermore considering the fact that it was placed in Japan: an area heavily prone to natural disasters; the structural integrity of the building is relatively strong.
This has been a very brief summary on what I believe would be the ideal solution to the Global Housing Crisis. For more Information feel free to contact me via my contact options in my Contacts Page.
Hi Isyraf, kudos for taking on such a challenging proposition.
UN SDG Goal 11 will be something worthwhile for you to take a look at. It is about making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Taking into account structural integrity is indeed an important point when it comes to buildings, in fact, Singapore buildings are so robust that they can withstand wind gust speeds of up to 143 KM/H (i.e. Typhoon strength) and even quakes. For example, while tremors from the magnitude 9 earthquake in Aceh in 2004 could be felt in Singapore, no structural damage was done to our buildings.
While it is no doubt that Singapore leads the pack for safe high-rise apartments, will they consider repurposing containers for residences? In my humble opinion, I believe there were efforts to do so in the name of sustainability, but the hot weather in Singapore will take too much energy to cool off, until whatever sustainability gains were net off by aircon consumption.
Now, on that note of excess of shipping containers. Shipping is an industry that moves on a 10 to 15 year cycle, and also susceptible to supply chain disruptions, especially in our current context. The excess of shipping containers may or may not be a permanent problem. Taking shipping containers out of the supply chain too quickly may also lead to a scrambling for more containers when trade comes back up.
Perhaps another solution will be to have containers be stacked on an anchored floating platform out at sea, aligned in a way to take full advantage of sea breeze to cool the containers. Solar panels could be added to the top to power propulsion on the floating platform to adjust to the changing wind direction throughout the day. That being said, Singapore is probably not the right place to test this solution, as our shipping lanes are busy, and people with beautiful waterfront views would be hard pressed to accept an island of floating containers in their view (complain of affecting their resale prices, etc.).
Jakarta perhaps?