Jaime Marland
401.427.6954
jmarland@risd.edu
Rhode Island School of Design + RI Center for Innovation and
Entrepreneurship at Brown University
Collaborate to Build Sustainable Homes from Shipping Containers
Reed secures $150,000 federal appropriation for The Partnership for Sustainable
Development to design an “off the grid” house that is affordable, sustainable and easy to install
PROVIDENCE, RI – March 25, 2011 – The Rhode Island School of Design [RISD], Rhode Island
Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship [RI-CIE] at Brown University, and two state based architects have partnered in a first-time collaboration to design and potentially
commercialize an off-the-grid, sustainable and energy-efficient home from shipping
containers. A class of RISD students this spring is researching and developing design plans
for the sustainable home, and if the idea is judged viable, experts from RI-CIE will assist in
finding the best avenues to take the homes to market.
U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) secured $150,000 in federal funding for the RISD and RI-CIE
pilot project in the fiscal 2010 appropriations bill. The project aims to enhance
opportunities for early-stage small businesses and/or product designers and entrepreneurs
working in areas of sustainable development and the emerging “green” economy.
“This collaboration between RISD and Brown has great potential to create jobs and provide
affordable, sustainable housing. This partnership will leverage investments by RISD, Brown,
and the Rhode Island Economic Development Council to promote entrepreneurship and
business development here in Rhode Island,” said Reed, a member of the Appropriations
Committee.
The “Off The Grid,” project grew out of a proposal by Peter Gill Case [Brown ‘83, RISD ‘97
MArch] and Joe Haskett [RISD ’02 MArch], who were selected to lead the pilot effort from
more than 50 proposals submitted. The Partnership for Sustainable Development targeted
proposals from early-stage small businesses or designers in order to jointly explore
innovative concepts and new ventures in the sustainability sector in RI.
“The breadth and creativity demonstrated by these proposals, and the many others that
were received, is a strong indication of the vitality and transformative potential of this sector
of Rhode Island’s economy,” said RISD Provost Jessie Shefrin.
This spring, students in an advanced interdisciplinary design studio at RISD, called “Rebox," are exploring how to reuse the shipping containers to create practical, affordable, and
sustainable building solutions, such as housing. The studio is led by RISD professors Markus
Berger and Peter Dean and is comprised of six Interior Architecture, six Industrial Design
and four Architecture students.
“This partnership is really exciting”, said Brendan McNally, RI-CIE’s director. “We are taking
Peter and Joe’s idea for affordable, sustainable housing, researching and testing it in the RISD
advanced studio, and then using the programs and networks at RI-CIE to find the right
market and business model to succeed. We believe this collaborative approach – idea-to-labto-market – is ideal to capitalize on Rhode Island’s knowledge economy innovations to
create jobs and advance sustainable building options.“
Gill Case and Haskett have stayed in Rhode Island since graduating and have several local
businesses between them [Box Office, Truth Box Architects, Distill Studio]. They recently
built a new first-of-its-kind energy efficient office building designed out of recycled shipping
containers [Box Office is located at 460 Harris Avenue, Providence RI]. For their next idea,
they asked: Is it possible to design and construct an “off the grid,” sustainable, and costeffective residential module that is easily transported and sold around the world? As
architects, they consider the project akin to producing the first mass-produced automobiles:
build one “chassis” for all models, and then modify the interiors to suit the end-user. In
addition to their current companies, Haskett of distill studio and Gill Case of Truth Box
Architects have decided to form a new company named UbiGO to pursue this idea.
The RISD studio provides an integrated approach to the design process where issues of
design, economy and sustainability are considered. The studio introduces advisors in
business, marketing, industrial-product development, building-energy, economy and
sustainability via RI-CIE and links these topics with research and design development. Gill
Case and Haskett are serving as critics in the process.
Particular attention is given to the idea of linking sustainable business ideas to a designresearch and development. Throughout the course there has been an emphasis on creating
and questioning the intrinsic values of sustainability, design and business strategies. Phases
will include research, business / marketing strategy and scheme design, including
sustainable material development, construction and fabrication methods. The final product
will consist of a presentation of the schemes through business and marketing plans,
diagrams, energy and sustainability schemes architectural drawings and models.
About Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design [RISD] has earned a worldwide reputation as the preeminent
art and design college in the country. Today, with more than 26,000 alumni, the college
enrolls approximately 1,900 undergraduates and 400 graduate students from the U.S. and
almost 50 countries, offering degree programs in the fine arts, architecture, and design
disciplines, and art education. Academic programs include research and design initiatives,
the exploration of art criticism and contemporary cultural concerns, as well as international
exchange programs. Each year, RISD hosts prominent and accomplished artists, critics, and
authors to its campus. Included within the college is The RISD Museum of Art, which houses
a world-class collection of art objects from Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome and art of all
periods from Asia, Europe and the Americas, as well as the latest in contemporary art. For
more information, visit www.risd.edu or our.risd.edu.
About the Rhode Island Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Brown
University
RI-CIE was established in April of 2009 as a statewide platform to support Rhode Island’s
knowledge economy innovations and entrepreneurs. RI-CIE is funded by Brown University,
the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RI EDC), Slater Technology Fund, and
Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC). RI-CIE’s network of services
creates an entrepreneurial eco-system providing members with networking events, office
and meeting space, workshops and seminars, and access to faculty, staff and experts who can
assist entrepreneurs and small businesses. In less than two years, RI-CIE has hosted close to
200 events, attracted over 5,000 attendees and support dozens of start-ups. RI-CIE focuses
on technology, life sciences, design, environment and other knowledge economy sectors. For
more information, visit www.RI-CIE.org
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