Day and Night Pod provides a net gain of biodiversity with respect to species, habitats, and ecosystem functions.
Its smaller footprint, adaptable modular design with minimal foundations lends itself to fit into environments with substantially less ecological impact.
It can unlock land which is hard to develop because of the lands size, shape or its ecological sensitivity. It has a 3 metre elevation and with plants growing on surrounding walls along with a meadow roof works to blend it into the environment .
Day and Night Pod is designed future proof against climate change.
It has efficient insulation, airtightness, high-performance windows integrating resilient design principles, sustainable materials and passive solutions to manage risks like overheating, flooding, and water scarcity while significantly reducing carbon emissions.
It sits 15cm above ground level with no substantial foundations. It has the flexibility to be entirely raised, very simply, if flooding became an issue.
It captures and retains more water than the land did before the development.
It is highly insulated and ventilated against overheating or use of carbon for heating.
The roof meadow, green walls and strategically planted trees provide shade and cool the surrounding environment through evaporation.
Rainwater harvesting systems, water-permeable paths and hollows all add to the water management of Day and Night Pod design.
Solar panels, heat pumps and battery storage systems can generate and store clean energy on-site.
The design includes properly laid out designated areas of living.
· Living room
· Kitchen/diner
· Utility room
· Bathroom
· Bedroom
· Storage
· Transportation parking
· Garden with patio
Using a separate storage container for non-essential day to day living items saves build and energy costs.
The inward facing external walls substantially consist of double glazed windows and doors allowing considerable amount of light and natural heat into the pod. This greatly cuts down the need for lighting/heating and therefore for extra energy use.
Utilising the flat roof as a meadow captures rain runoff and makes redundant the need for guttering and water management of the roof.
Value of Shipping Containers
Waste Reduction: Repurposing single use containers for new applications (homes, offices, storage, etc.) diverts them from landfills or scrapyards which is a major environmental benefit given that 40 million containers are in circulation and 11 million of containers sit unused globally.
Conservation of Raw Materials: Reusing existing containers reduces the demand for new raw materials like the steel, concrete and wood associated with traditional construction. Building a new structure from a used container saves approximately 3,500kg of steel.
Durability and Longevity: Containers are built from durable Corten steel to withstand harsh marine conditions for 25 years or more or 60-70 years static land based use. This longevity reduces the need for frequent replacements, further lowering their negative environmental impact over time.
Energy-Intensive Production: The initial manufacture of steel is highly energy-intensive and produces significant CO2 emissions. Manufacturing a single container can emit up to 5,000 kilograms of CO2. Not to repurpose shipping containers is an ecological waste of precious resources.
When a used container is properly upcycled with non-toxic materials and effective insulation, it becomes an excellent sustainable building option and contributes to a circular economy.
New Builds
Much of the material used in new builds is toxic.
New builds use plasterboard
Toxic Gas Production: The main ingredient, gypsum (calcium sulphate dihydrate), is a sulphate mineral. If it gets wet when disposed of with biodegradable waste in a landfill (an anaerobic, or oxygen-free, environment), bacteria break down the gypsum to produce hydrogen sulphide gas. This gas is poisonous, corrosive, flammable, and has a strong "rotten egg" smell. It can form invisible, hazardous pools in the ground, posing serious health and environmental risks, including potential air and groundwater contamination.
Resource Depletion: Production of gypsum often relies on mining and this is a non-renewable resource which involves land transformation and habitat disruption.
Energy Consumption and GHG Emissions: The manufacturing process, particularly the calcination stage (heating the gypsum), is energy-intensive and often uses fossil fuels, contributing to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Transportation Impacts: The raw materials (which can come from various countries) and the final products can require significant transportation, adding to the carbon footprint and other environmental impacts like fine particulate matter formation and acidification.
Additives: The use of paper facings, glues, and other chemical additives in the production process can complicate recycling and introduce other environmental impacts.
Contamination: Improperly disposed plasterboard can contaminate entire loads of recyclable materials, complicating waste management processes and increasing costs. Landfill Ban: Due to this risk, mixing plasterboard with general waste in skips or landfills is illegal in the UK and many other regions.
New builds use Concrete
Concreate has a significant contribution to climate change not only through greenhouse gas emissions from cement production, which is a major source of CO2, but also its high water consumption.
Greenhouse gas emissions: The production of cement, the key ingredient in concrete, releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Cement production is responsible for approximately 8% of the world's total carbon dioxide emissions. Use of cement leads to the depletion of natural resources like sand and gravel, pollutes air and water, and contributes to the urban heat environment.
Air pollution: The manufacturing process also emits other pollutants like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which degrade air quality.
Urban heat island effect: Concrete absorbs and retains heat, leading to higher temperatures in urban areas. This "heat island effect" can increase energy consumption and pose health risks, especially during heatwaves.
Water usage: Producing concrete requires a large amount of water, placing a strain on global freshwater supplies.
Resource extraction: The production of concrete relies on quarrying sand, gravel, and other materials, which disrupts ecosystems and contributes to resource scarcity.
Waste: The demolition of concrete structures creates large amounts of debris, and the transportation of raw materials and finished concrete products contributes to its carbon footprint.
Water contamination: Runoff from concrete can introduce pollutants into water bodies.
Habitat loss: The extraction of raw materials can lead to habitat destruction and negatively impact local wildlife.
Why not?
Day and Night Pod
Thermal efficiency - It is a thermally efficient and soundproofed build and has very low running costs.
The heat and sound insulation performance is based on the concept of not allowing heat or sound energy in or out.
The doors and windows are double glazed for thermal and sound insulation. The large glass external surface area maximises natural heat penetration during the day.
Ergonomics - The Day and Night Pod has a natural human flow of space .
The preparation of food is supported by the triangles of cooker to food storage and/or duel making areas of the breakfast bar or the window surface workspace : the multi space privacy of bedroom to bathroom or living area to bathroom: settees are sofa beds for overnight guests only.
Mental and Physical health
Outdoor living is encouraged with patio and garden.
Day and Night Pod is designed to be surrounded with natural light, connecting with nature and the elements.
Day and Night Pods are ideally placed in multi-functional green spaces that are enhancing biodiversity and contribute to climate resilience and thus support physical and mental well-being and provide areas for social interaction, .
Society benefits
The key factor is that Day and Night Pod accommodation is affordable to buy/rent and run.
It supports the pyramid of the housing market that is lacking in provision for the poor, single, young, older people and vulnerable with adjusted needs.
Creating this housing has the potential to unlock the housing market in response to the top heavy presence of the large, expensive and under utilised non new build properties.
The cost of an entry level new build house (est.£250,000) is 7 times the national average annual wage.
Fact 1 - 8.5 million British citizens will need a single dwelling by 2032 because of people living on their own.
Fact 2 - 1.3 million people are on a housing waiting list
Fact 3 - By 2028 the Housing benefit bill will be £35 Billion.
Currently only 200,000 homes are being built per year, mainly by the commercial sector driven primarily to maximise returns so by default, with no judgement, are simply not able to meet the society needs. This is not a new issue and has plagued governments of both parties for decades. Planning permission has become more complicated for a lot of reasons in recent times but that is being addressed with the current government.
Day and Night Pod
is a
Cost of Build, Running Cost and Environmental
JACKPOT
End of use
This is simple. All Day and Night Pod products are recyclable because of their construct, integral strength and mainly not compromised in the build. Simple to put in; simple to take out; recycle for reuse and everything wins in a circular economy.