Rhode Island Monthly magazine announced the annual Design Awards in their October 2011 issue, and we’re thrilled to report that Stack was recognized as a winner of two awards!

The Boiler Room won Bronze for Architecture in a Residential Renovation

In the category for best Architecture in a Residential Renovation, Stack won Bronze for the Boiler Room. We have always felt that a key factor that differentiates Stack from other Design-Build firms is our passion for great Design. We seek it both in our own work as well as in our collaboration with outside Architects. To have one of our own Designs be recognized in this forum though is truly both rewarding and humbling (Stack was the only Design-Build firm to take home a 2011 Design Award) .

Stack's Josh Brandt and Andy Keating flank Boiler Room owner Eric Delin of Delin Design

However, the credit truly belongs to our amazing client, Eric Delin of Delin Design, for turning us loose on this fantastic project and trusting Stack as Designers every step along the way. As a Design professional himself, Eric made clear that he would not accept any ordinary space and without his passion, vision, and investment there would be no award to celebrate.

But fortunately, the fun didn’t stop there…

The Box Office won Gold for Commercial New Construction

In the category for best Architecture in a Commercial New Construction or Renovation, the Box Office won Gold. Congratulations to Architect (and good friend) Joe Haskett of distill studio for this tremendous accomplishment! By now, most people know that Stack built (and has its headquarters in) this Providence landmark and that we were key contributors to Joe’s Integrated Design Process that was critical to making this unique building a reality. We could not be happier for Joe for having his work win the Gold in this category!

Box Office Project Team (clockwise from left): Stack's Andy Keating; Structural Engineer Erik Nelson; Civil Engineer Jon Ford; Architect Joe Haskett; Builder Josh Brandt; Owner Peter Gill Case; and Interior Designer Kelly Taylor

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners. We hope to see you again next year!

Inhabitat.com posted a great story about the Box Office today. This is a post-occupancy follow up to an article they ran last October in their “Prefab Friday” section. Given Inhabitat’s huge following and focus on all things green, innovative, and cool – which of course are key Stack values -  we’re thrilled that they have now featured our work on three separate occasions (including this article about Conatiners 2 Clinics from 2009). Thanks for the continued support Inhabitat!

We recently stumbled upon a shipping container house that we liked so much, we decided to blog about it (even though we didn’t build it). The guys who pulled this one off are EcoTechDesign in Los Angeles, CA.

It’s actually a home + studio in the Mojave desert in California. The project’s targeted and focused use of containers resulted in a high impact, identity driven building that was brought in at the same cost as conventional construction (~$150/sf). They played to the containers strengths, and got more out of the same construction budget. This is precisely the type of balance that Stack recommends to its clients and implements on its projects because, despite what some might say, containers are not a fundamentally inexpensive way to build.

What impressed us so much is actually the restraint that was shown with respect to using containers. Their use of inexpensive conventional building systems for program areas that need large open space (like the studio) really makes a lot of sense; creating spaces like these is tough – aka expensive – if you use only containers because of their structural limitations.

To read the full text of the article, click here.

Stack's prototype shipping container medical clinic was feature in the most recent issue of Popular Mechanics. Read the full text here.

Stack’s work was recently featured on the cover of the April 2011 Issue of Rhode Island Home & Design Magazine! This article actually had nothing to do with shipping containers (for once), and instead highlighted Stack’s residential capabilities . The featured project is one we completed late last year – a gut renovation of a single family home on Providence’s East side.

Improving energy efficiency of this early 20th century structure was top priority for project owner/architect (and frequent Stack collaborator) Joe Haskett of distill studio. Our strategy for doing this included spray foam insulation, a high efficiency combi-Boiler (combi = heat + hot water), and new fiberglass windows from Marvin. The ENERGY STAR paperwork is still pending, but based on this winter’s utility bills, it appears to have been quite successful.

Click here to read the article or here to see the issue in full! Thanks to Aaron Usher for the great photos.

While this will not make the Box Office a net-zero energy building, it is a huge step in that direction. According to developer Peter Gill Case of Truthbox, the system will provide 100% of the electricity needed for general building use (exterior lighting, common area conditioning etc) as well as offsetting a portion of some tenants’ electricity use.

Now that the building has been occupied for 6 months, we finally have real data (in the form of utility bills) that will tell us how much energy the building is actually using – something that has always been a key success measure for the Project Team. Right now, on average each unit is on pace to use ~22-25 kBtu/sf per year. This is an amazing figure and is within about 10% of our best case energy model. We will continue to post updates on how we’re doing energy wise as the utility bills roll in.

Thanks to Alteris for the renderings.

Stack was recently profiled in Green Building and Design Magazine. The article highlighted Stack’s focus on innovation on our commitment to sustainability. Here’s the rest of the article (click the images to enlarge):

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Architect: Distill Studio

Photography: Aaron Usher

With the Box Office right next to the train tracks, passing trains help set the rhythm of the day. Fortunately, the exceptional insulation of the units keeps them nice and quiet inside. Yesterday, however, I looked out the window, and saw a real mechanical marvel: a Track-Relaying Train. The train was about 200 yards long, most of which was devoted to storing new ties. A gantry system ran above the cars, depositing ties back to the business-car. The train lifts the rails, munches up the old ties, and deposits fresh ones in their place.

This is the business section of the TRT, which is moving to the right. Note the ties going in and coming out.

The flatbed cars full of ties, as seen from Stack's roof deck.

In other Box Office news, Google maps found our pile of containers. This looks like it was taken sometime in the spring. Interestingly, Street View has not yet updated; it still shows the building that formerly occupied the site.

Google Maps view of the Box Office under construction.

The island of Lindisfarne, off the coast of England, upcycles their old herring boats into sheds. A cool twist on the Viking funeral:

In energy news, Google has invested in a 350-mile-long transmission backbone for wind power in the Atlantic ocean.

And finally, a neat film about crane operators. We have previously featured crane operators in Dubai who chose to live in their crane-cabs because of the time and distance involved to descend each day.

The story isn’t embeddable, but here’s a link to to the audio and text versions of the story, which also featured another Stack container project, the Containers to Clinics prototype clinic, currently serving women and children in Haiti.