Project Description: B.O.X. beyondordinaryexperience

I. Design Intent

B.O.X. enhances and enlivens the local community and provides a destination within Long Beach beyond ordinary experiences for learning about, working within or visiting a hallmark of sustainable practice. It seeks to create a holistically sustainable development by addressing social sustainability, environmental sustainability and economic sustainability. The design concept is inspired by the shipping container as an architectural element and the unique characteristics of Long Beach. It connects with the “International City” aspiration of Long Beach through a high tech design linked back to the theme of the shipping containers and the local importance of the port by using locally reclaimed and shipping industry materials such as cable ties, lumber and the shipping containers themselves. Graphics are used as part of the building facade to integrate the concept with the immediate context, where old advertising paintings on buildings are common.

II. Architectural Program

Focusing on the three pronged approach to sustainability, the program supplements rather than duplicates functions in the local area. It is divided into four function zones that stretch users preconceptions regarding the experiences they should have in Community, Serviced Workspace, Hostel and Roof Park spaces.
The Community zone includes components that interact to create a versatile public space: Exhibit Spaces for display, seminars, conferences, community events; dedicated Art Gallery for local artists; Organic Coffee Shop to enliven the building and bring dynamism and vibrancy to the street front through a street-level outdoor seating area; “Green Retailer” selling environmentally friendly products and local artists’ work. The Exhibit Spaces and Art Gallery can work together as one exhibition space to support large events or can operate separately to support 2 or 3 smaller events.
Serviced Workspace zone fills a gap in the market for a vibrant business-start up incubator supporting local entrepreneurs and small businesses. There are a range of open and enclosed collaborative Workspace types as well as formal meeting rooms in order to support the broadest range of businesses and styles of working.
The Hostel will supplement the temporary lodging portfolio in the area by providing low cost accommodation geared to young travellers. In order to attract guests the Hostel includes three types of rooms with a focus on privacy and access to outdoor space. All rooms have private bathrooms, allowing greatest flexibility in responding to demand for single-sex rooms. There are also generous shared facilities for guests.
The Roof Park integrates sustainability with the use of public outdoor space through a community garden. There is open green space for informal community use and Community Gardens where local residents and businesses can grow produce. The gardens would use the raised bed square foot gardening method, which is very effective for small spaces and ensures universal accessibility. The top deck is an amphitheatre as a space for seminars and other community events.
The programme has been conceived as if the City of Long Beach is the owner-developer, therefore incorporating and expanding upon the functions the City desires. The developer creates the program and a general spatial layout to ensure it will work, handing over the internal fit out and operations to tenant(s). A Tenant Design Guide would be issued to ensure that the tenant’s approach to the fit out is in line with the owner’s sustainability goals and, therefore, achieves an acceptable LEED for Interiors rating.

III. Architecture & Material Usage

The design is driven by the shipping container as a modular structural element and the goal to achieve a LEED Platinum for Core and Shell rating.
The building structure consists solely of reclaimed shipping containers with a structural floor deck of salvaged container siding and a concrete topping slab where a container structural flooring system is not present. This allows the design to stack the containers in an offset grid, reducing the number of containers used. Vertical circulation cores are also constructed from shipping containers, providing shear cores against lateral loads. The modularity of the building form and prefabrication construction technique ensures that the building can be deconstructed for reassembly elsewhere.
Modularity is continued throughout the façade and services design. The double-skin façade plays two roles: it creates a dynamic surface with a duality of day and night personality through the use of graphics and lighting combined with screens and greening; it provides superior insulating qualities and enables the use of passive cooling. The graphics themselves can be easily changed to help the building maintain its energy and freshness. The panels reflect the module of the shipping containers while complimenting B.O.X.’s context visually through the continuation of the streetscape rhythm established by the American Hotel. All sides of the building are activated through this approach by the use of glass panelling on the east elevation and sun-shading louvers clad with flexible PV cells on the south façade. The building form respects the American Hotel by stepping away from it, keeping the highest part of the building towards the east and creating the basis for the roof park.
A modular approach to services is achieved through features such as the Vanguard Manablocs System.
Non-traditional building materials used in the design include vegetative façade, additional wall insulation, reclaimed wood structure for the second skin, chain link fencing to create mesh panels, digitally printed wind screens for the graphic panels, reuse of leftover container siding to create balcony railings.
Universal design principles were foremost when planning out interior spaces and access into the building and onto the roof park.
The development achieves LEED Platinum for Core and Shell. It complies with all relevant building and zoning codes.

IV. LEED and Energy Efficiency

The development achieved LEED Platinum status at ¬¬¬94 points through design and construction qualities such as: optimized energy performance, on site renewable energy, prefabrication, sourcing regional materials and restoring habitats, using 75% recycled or salvaged materials, water efficient landscaping, water use reduction and providing a Tenant Design Guide.
Energy efficiency is achieved through using solar panels to generate electricity; integrating the building envelope with an HVAC system comprised of and earth-air tube system, zoned energy recovery ventilators with a water to air coil connected to a minimally sized geo-thermal system (which also provides hot water to the building); insulating the building beyond standard requirements; setting out in Tenant Design Guidelines the energy efficiencies required of all light fittings etc installed by tenants.
Building users will be educated about the sustainability features and energy efficiency through several strategies including: a signage program to inform and educate occupants and visitors of the buildings’ environmental design features and to describe the benefits of each of these features as it relates to the sustainable building process; Energy Education Dashboards displayed on interactive screens in the building and on the web that show real-time data of energy usage and have a range of other educational features such as quizzes, demonstrations, videos, links to more information; demonstration plot in the Community Garden that shows how an intensive green roof is constructed and how to grow produce in an urban environment.
Through an analysis of LEED point system and CAL Green, by achieving LEED Platinum for Core and Shell, we are meeting and exceeding CAL Green Requirements.

V. Cost

The budget constraint for the project was a driving factor in every design decision. The total cost for construction of the core and shell is estimated to be: $368,272.06. Three government rebates for energy efficiency and renewable energy generation helped bring the project in under budget.
The programme has been conceived as if the City of Long Beach is the owner-developer. The developer creates the program and a general spatial layout to ensure it will work, handing over the internal fit out and operations to tenant(s). A Tenant Design Guide would be issued to ensure that the tenant’s approach to the fit out is in line with the owner’s sustainability goals and, therefore, achieves an acceptable LEED for Interiors rating.

Location