Jun 22 2009
DA STARK Interiors, a Seattle-based interior design firm, announces the assembly of its new buildings, constructed out of reused cargo containers, to be located in the heart of the Seattle Design District. The containers will be craned into place Thursday, June 18, and represent the entire exterior structure of the firm's buildings, which were prefabricated off-site. The interiors and other prefab materials will be installed on site in preparation for the grand opening this fall.
DA STARK Interiors' cargo container showroom opening this fall
The DA STARK Interiors' buildings are the first commercial buildings designed and constructed out of reused, international cargo containers in the city of Seattle.
Cargo containers are stacked by the thousands in international ports all around the country. With the rising cost of transportation, it is no longer cost effective to ship empty containers back to the country of origin. DA STARK is the first business in Seattle to show how these engineering marvels can be reused and repurposed into useful, meaningful, and contemporary works of art and commerce rather than just accumulating at US ports.
"This new, one-of-a-kind project demonstrates that building green does not have to cost more than standard construction, a common issue in today's commercial and residential building industries where 'built-green' is the latest buzzword," said Dixie Stark, principal of DA STARK Interiors.
This unique building is being referred to as "The Greenest Building in Seattle" for its use of both reclaimed material and 'green-factor' amenities. Much of the previous structures on the site were re-used by second-use building suppliers for other, low cost green-builds. The new building will incorporate low-V paint, carpet from high-content recycled material, high-efficiency windows, a planted green roof, a 'rain garden' for catching run-off and other new finish-out building materials.
"We hope the buildings will become a destination for other designers, builders and city planners as a model for new design and construction. In fact, almost all of the unique design and re-use techniques are also transferable to the residential market," said Ms. Stark.