Noah Nothing Caring and Teaching House

The Noah Nothing Caring and Teaching House is a container building designed for non-profit use. It serves as a food pantry and also a site to provide social services like tutoring and counseling to local community members. The unique building was created by a student team from the University of South Florida Design/Build Studio led by professor Stanley Russell.

An existing wood facility built in the 1920s was already on site, but needed replacement in order to modernize and expand. In order to create a sustainable, energy-efficient building that stayed within budget, students chose to use repurposed shipping containers as the primary construction material.

Starting in 2008, students began the design of the facility. The containers were used to house a pantry for canned and frozen foods, a kitchen, a computer lab, a reception area, and a meeting room. The space in between the three containers is used as a large multi-purpose area and has a higher, 12-foot ceiling that includes clerestory windows on two sides.

The design was so innovative that it won a Merit Award from the Tampa Bay Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 2009. It included energy efficient elements like a white single-ply thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roof membrane, and white coating for the exterior of the containers as well.

Large sliding doors were incorporated to signify when the facility was open when viewed from the street, and to segment the interior spaces so that HVAC wasn’t wasted on unused rooms. Cypress siding was used in a few strategic locations to alter the texture of the façade and provide some warmth. One of the most striking elements is the cantilevered roof that hovers over the front entry.

Although they received help from local businesses, this was primarily a student designed, constructed, and led project. As construction began, they worked in groups: One team worked at the building site to prepare the foundations, while the other modified the containers offsite. You can see from the pictures that the groups joined together to create a beautiful, functional building that was an early mover in the world of shipping container architecture.