Enlarge D.I. von Briesen (from left), Rich Deming, Bryan Shields and Jennifer Shields at Civic By Design.

Posted: August 15th, 2009 James Willamor

At least two people in Charlotte want us to think about living or working inside the box.

Rich Deming and D.I. von Briesen shared their visions for more affordable but nontraditional housing at the monthly Civic by Design forum Aug. 11 at the Levine Museum of the New South.

Deming is a biofuels entrepreneur and an advocate for self-sufficiency, and Von Briesen, a fellow at Central Piedmont Community College, is the creative force behind the Center for Sustainability's Ecobox project.

Their idea: Reuse shipping containers to provide low-cost housing and workspaces for small businesses. According to von Briesen, shipping containers can be stacked nine high on cargo ships while each holding 60,000 pounds.

Plus, due to the nation’s trade deficit, there's a surplus of shipping containers.

“Where else can you spend $2,000 and get 320 square feet [of space] ready to go, protected from the weather, dry on the inside, super-strong, with only four support points that can easily be leveled with a $50 jack and a brick?” asks von Briesen.

“It’s the idea that any of us could do this. We’re looking to take advantage of a space that already exists.”

Deming, who has experience in alternative energy and construction, spoke of a plan to redevelop an old, roofless building on Parkwood Avenue at Pegram Street. The project will use stacked, redesigned shipping containers to provide sustainable, affordable workshops to be used as a small business incubator.

Working with Central Piedmont Community College’s Institute for Entrepreneurship, applicants will submit a business plan for a micro-business, go through a preparation program, and, according to Deming, “get a 320 square foot space free for one year, maybe two years, so they can start a small biz that one or two people can do.”

Deming also is making connections with the community in the process. Neighbors and interested stakeholders are invited to meet weekly over a home-cooked meal, where their input on the project is welcomed. He describes the project as a “community-based design.”

At CPCC, von Briesen is building an EcoBox, a shipping container that he hopes to turn into a fully self-sustainable dwelling. “We're trying to do it in a way that's off the grid, so that when you set it down it’s not plugged into anything," he says.

Imagine immediately after a hurricane hits Charleston, von Briesen explains, 20 trucks leave Charlotte with the EcoBoxes. He envisions setting the boxes up in two days with two people.

"So 48 hours later there are people living in those containers, or they could be FEMA workers, EMT, firefighters, you name it," says von Briesen. "We could be down there with chainsaws helping clean up the mess, and I'm trying to get it done for about ten grand in materials and then labor on top of that.”

Both men are concerned about Charlotte’s need for affordable housing. “How is $60,000 affordable housing to somebody on minimum wage?” asks Deming. “Affordable housing should mean housing which two people making minimum wage can afford to buy.”

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