As part of a program at the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Design, a cohort of students retrofitted twelve shipping containers to serve as private housing for homeless people during the pandemic. 

The project, located at Kansas’ Lawrence Community Shelter, is called Monarch Village. It was established in response to the need for adequate quarantine spaces for its population when the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020. The initiative is part of the non-profit Studio 804, a comprehensive design-build program offered through the school where graduate students design and build a LEED Platinum project. Monarch Village is the studio’s sixteenth. 

According to Studio 804, the dwellings offer much-needed privacy for families while allowing guests access to services at the shelter. It is hoped that this project will be a precedent to move away from housing the homeless in gymnasium-like rooms full of bunk beds, an arrangement that makes isolating impossible.

Construction on the units began in August 2020 in Studio 804’s warehouse. They were then moved to the prepared site in March 2021, and by graduation in May, the project was complete. The total cost was just under $500,000, approximately $40,000 per container. 

The twelve units are grouped into six pairings to accommodate shared patios and protected entries. They sit to the southeast of the main shelter and near a 900-square-foot, open-sided commons shelter just north of the community vegetable garden. Each container includes space for four people with two separate sleeping areas, a bunk bed in one and a pull-out sleeper couch in the other. In addition, they each have a full bathroom and small kitchenette, and all of the furniture and cabinetry was designed and built by the students of Studio 804. One unit was designed to be fully ADA-accessible. 

As reported by the U.S. Green Building Council, operable windows on both sides of the units allow for cross-ventilation. “Greenscreens”, structures to support native vines, were added to shade the containers and cool the steel surfaces. The interior spaces are conditioned using heat pump technology with ductless mini splits, and fans bring in fresh outdoor air. In addition, three 320-watt solar panels mounted on each roof provide clean, supplemental energy, and all units have sprinkler systems. They were also designed to be moved if necessary. 

The containers have so far been successful. At one point, all twelve were occupied and used as quarantine spaces when a shelter guest tested positive for Covid-19. The last of the required building permits were recently approved, clearing the way for ten more units. Construction is set to begin within a year. 

“There has never been a project that gave the community a vision for what could be like this one has," said Meghan Bahn, the shelter’s director of community engagement. "The units are aspirational. People move into a place that offers them dignity and makes clear the truth that they deserve more than a tent in a field or a bunk bed in a warehouse.”