Gorilla Design to build Salt Lake City's first (that I know of) shipping container home.

Last Friday I had the great pleasure of meeting with Roi Maufas and Alyssa Kay of Gorilla Design to discuss their new shipping container project just South of Liberty Park here in Salt Lake City. We had a very nice discussion about the project and I am excited to share what I learned with you.

The first home will be located at 580 E. 1300 S. in Salt Lake City, Utah and will be constructed of shipping containers with a 12" inch exterior coating of highly insulative Fibrous Cement. The anticipated cost of the prototype build is $70 sq. ft. However, this price per sq. ft. is for the prototype home and cost will vary depending on client needs. Not everyone will want wind and solar energy and not everyone will want solarium's and atrium's so cost can go up or down based on needs and wants.



The shipping containers are expected to run about $2,500 each, but actual cost can vary from $1,500 - $5,000 based on location, condition, size and shipping costs. The time it will take to build the main structure of the home will 3 days from the moment they are dropped on to the lot. Groundbreaking to finished, full operation build can be expected to take 90 - 120 days. The goal for Gorilla Design is to reach a build time of 21 days from the moment the containers are dropped on the lot. That will be incredible! While this prototype unit will be built on site, they plan to build modular units off-site to speed production in the future.



Gorilla Design is not going to stop with just Urban Infill homes either. As Roi said, "We are dedicated to designing and building responsible, safe, energy efficient developments, that nurture and inspire the inhabitants. As my grandpa used to say "Stand for something, or fall for anything""

With this in mind Gorilla Design "will quickly be moving into development. We see this as the area where we can make the most impact, designing everything from the community to the homes to the systems to be sustainable and affordable. Our ultimate goal is to develop a building technology that we can ship all over the world, to war-torn countries and as disaster relief, providing actual homes (not tents) that can be set up in a matter of days and create their own power, heat and cool themselves, etc. In other words, create a decent standard of living to everyone in the world." Alyssa said.

As if creating a structure of sustainable materials and making it a home to last a lifetime weren't enough the project will also be including many other features to make it even more efficient. With solar panels, passive solar design, a thermal chimney and an integrated green house, this home will be beautiful, sustainable and highly efficient. To top it off it will also feature a water collecting roof where rainwater and snow melt will be collected into a cistern under home. There the water will be filtered and returned for use throughout the home and gardens.


Please take a moment to jump over to the Gorilla Design Site to learn more or view the Gorilla Design Brochure.


"Our solution was to rethink the box... to consider the way houses are built. We went back in time thousands of years to learn how people have built homes since we left the caves. We looked at the qualities and principles of traditional building materials and methods. We examined what it means to live in a home. Then we looked to the future and all the new technologies that could be integrated into our homes to make them better, stronger, more efficient, more self-sustaining and most important, livable." - Roi Maufas



Photos - Courtesy of Gorilla Design.