Inflated Fees Send Students to Live in Floating Shipping Containers
As the rising cost of student accommodation sweeps across Europe, a sustainable solution can be found in the floating architecture of Danish start-up, Urban Rigger.
Words by Patrice Sweeney
Foraying into higher education can be regarded as a personal journey, where the world of academia becomes a medium for growth. Oftentimes however, rampant housing fees are familiar ogres that plague many a traveller.
Copyright Urbanrigger.com
By 2025, Europe is projected to have a deficit of over four million beds. In the last two years, rent has increased by up to 20 per cent in the UK. This scarcity of affordable lodging options threatens to prevent working class individuals from enrolling in university.
Copyright Urbanrigger.com
However, networks of city waterways are turning the tide against costly student housing. Urban Rigger, a Copenhagen-based start-up, has designed and developed an innovative solution to the crisis: it converts shipping containers into floating and economic dorms.
Copyright Urbanrigger.com
Following the debut of the first full scale model, the URBAN RIGGER 1.0 in the summer of 2016, these modular dwellings will take advantage of the space provided by urban harbours. Budget-friendly and environmentally benign, the initial series of these buoyant residences will go for rougly £465 a month.
Copyright Urbanrigger.com
The price includes a private bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and a shared living area. Each converted shipping container forms a housing unit that can hold up to 12 people.
Copyright Urbanrigger.com
In an effort to assuage the student housing crisis, founder and CEO Kim Loudrup aims to create a fleet from this revolutionary design, and share it with Europe’s canal, port, and river-intensive cities.
