boxport.

©2014 Caroline Ingalls

Boxport is a concept for a public space comprised of repurposed shipping containers that exemplifies the connection between commerce, community and culture in one place. It most importantly tells the many untold stories of the shipping industry and it's well-traveled containers. Shipping containers are very common in architecture today, but one aspect of them that is not so often portrayed is their collective title of "the box that changed the world". Our interconnected global economies and modern lifestyles today are achievable because of these simple boxes (formally known as TEU's or twenty-foot equivalent units). Boxport allows visitors to experience the shipping container for what it is, listening to their inspirational untold stories and therefore gaining appreciation and understanding. 

The Savannah Boxport was designed for my Final Project in my Design for Sustainability master's program in the fall of 2014. It emphasizes the crucial connections between Savannah's offerings, such as bringing the Port of Savannah closer to the local community and beyond. Emphasizing local and global product in one place, as well as up-and-coming artisans and designers, it centers itself around the mission of to simply "do good". Boxport provides jobs, embraces sustainable building and design, provides food, allows artists to showcase their work, supports localism and allows it to have a global presence, and most importantly, allows for well-being amongst all. Boxport is a concept that hopefully could be adapted in other major port cities around the world as a way for the ports to connect with their local communities. As Jonathan Wichmann, the former Head of Social Media at Maersk Line, once stated, "the cloak of invisibility on this invisible industry must be lifted". 

*This project is currently in the process of being implemented in Savannah today.  Scott Boylston, Program Coordinator for Design for Sustainability at SCAD, and Kevin Klinkenberg, Executive Director of the Savannah Development & Renewal Authority (SDRA), have been helping to take Boxport to the next level.  I thank them unconditionally for their efforts in turning this dream in to a reality.

Have a look at my Boxport Final Presentation Book.

©2014 Caroline Ingalls

©2014 Caroline Ingalls

©2014 Caroline Ingalls

©2014 Caroline Ingalls

©2014 Caroline Ingalls