Meet the Coolest, Most Versatile Construction Material: Shipping Pallets!
(Photo: Thinkstock)
They’re everywhere you shop and now they could be where you live.
The ubiquitous shipping pallet is making the jump from transporting construction materials to becoming a hot construction material itself.
The wooden boards seen on forklifts in home renovation warehouses everywhere are definitely plentiful: there are reportedly about two billion of them in the U.S. alone. The majority are made with endlessly reusable and environmentally friendly wood, which is a big point in their favor. And they have a nice birch-like color that makes it perfect for construction projects.
Their use is not without controversy. Opponents note that pallets are often too filthy for indoor use, and many are reported to contain bugs and mold and treated with chemicals you may not want to expose yourself to daily.
Still, there are some good looking construction and renovation projects made with birch. Some of our favorites include:
Casa Manifesto: Chile
(Photo: James&Mau)
In addition to the wooden pallets on the outside, this architectural beauty —designed by Infiniski and highlighted in Inhabitat.com — uses another essential piece of shipping equipment: shipping containers, three in all. The wooden pallets provide shade and ventilation as the air passes between the wooden slats. The house was built for $88,000 and is made out of 85% recycled, reused and eco-friendly material.
I-Beam’s Pallet House: New York
(Photo: I-Beam Design)
I-Beam Design originally designed a Pallet House for a charitable purpose: proposed temporary housing for refugees rendered homeless by war or natural disaster. The 250-foot Pallet House consists of 100 recycled pallets that can be assembled by only 5 people in less than a week. It’s touted as an environmentally friendly, and a more durable long-lasting solution for refugee housing than tents.
“Shitomito Pallet” Temporary Office: Tokyo
(Photo: Masao Nishikawa)
Japanese design firm Hiroki Tominaga Atelier came up with a unique solution to craft a cheap and temporary 50-square-foot office space for a video production company. According to Dezeen, more than 100 wooden transport pallets were used to create floorboards, wall coverings and furniture in this office. In addition to its extremely cheap cost — about $1,600 — the client was satisfied with the project’s portability; the pallets are designed to be reassembled and used to help move once the lease is up.
Most Architecture’s Temporary Office Design: Amsterdam
(Photo by Rogier Jaarsma)
An Amsterdam company also needed pallets for their temporary office space, designed by Most Architecture and spotlighted in Dezeen. The main room features two long tables and a central walkway made from pallets. It also has a staircase made out of you-know-what. 270 pallets were used in all.
Be Palettø: Denmark
(Photo: bepaletto.blogspot.com)
11 Danish architecture students came up with this outdoor pavilion. As seen in Tree Hugger, the pavilion includes 420 pallets that form both the wall and the footholds used to ascend it. It’s designed to be a shortcut through the courtyard, as well as a place to lie down to enjoy the sun. Let’s hope its student designers got an “A.”
Schnetzer Andreas Claus and Pils Gregor’s Pallet House: Vienna, Austria
(Photo: Arch Daily)
Another student-designed pallet project, this Pallet House has been exhibited throughout Europe and South Africa. According to Arch Daily, the house “reuses pallets to form a modular, energy efficient and affordable housing” (it costs about $11 per square-foot). It’s hoped it can bring a new approach to affordable housing.
