????今天我們要介紹的或許算得上廢物利用的極致：那就是將退役的海運集裝箱改造為建筑。在港口或建筑工地附近，這類非正式的臨時性住房并不少見，不過，保羅?加爾文的SG Blocks公司希望能讓主流社會接受這種形式的住宅。

????若非親眼目睹，該公司的神奇業務簡直令人難以置信。這家公司的出現順應了兩大趨勢：預制構件建筑越來越獲得認可；世界經濟越來越強調綠色環保。“建筑業所有人都在追求綠色環保，我也一樣。”房地產開發商、SG Blocks投資者彼得?蘇德勒稱。

????該公司創始人兼首席執行官加爾文還指出，集裝箱建筑有下列優勢：根據建設位置不同，其建設成本通常要比傳統建筑低10-12%；建設時間低40%；而且更能抵御颶風等極端天氣的侵襲。每個集裝箱重大8,000磅，長40英尺，可承載5萬磅重量，如果客戶需要的話，集裝箱還可以一層層疊起來。加爾文稱，這一特性使完工后的集裝箱建筑看起來就像巨型鋼鐵蜂巢。

????建設流程如下：港口運營商為SG Blocks供應退役集裝箱，并直接在港口就地完成改造工作，即切割箱體，嵌入門窗。加爾文的企業隨后在建筑安放地或中轉地完成工作。集裝箱外體還可以加上磚頭或木板，不過加爾文稱大多數客戶都希望凸顯自己重視綠色環保這一事實。“他們喜歡維持方方正正的造型，并露出一些集裝箱的風貌。”他補充說。（參見下面的照片。）

????It may be the ultimate recycling project: taking retired shipping containers and repurposing them as buildings. It's not uncommon to see these makeshift structures informally in use around ports or construction sites, but now Paul Galvin is trying to bring them into the mainstream with his company SG Blocks.

????It's a you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it endeavor that's getting a boost from the confluence of two trends: a growing acceptance of prefabricated construction and the greening of the economy. "Everyone is going green in construction, as am I," says Peter Sudler, a real estate developer and investor in the company.

????It doesn't hurt that Galvin, the company's founder and CEO, says his projects, depending on the location, are typically 10% to 12% cheaper than traditional construction, cut 40% off construction time and are more resistant to extreme weather like hurricanes. Each container weighs 8,000 pounds, is 40 feet long and can hold some 50,000 pounds. The containers can be stacked depending on a customer's needs, a quality Galvin says likens the finished project to a giant steel honeycomb.

????Here's how it works: port operator Conglobal Industries sources the retired containers for SG Blocks (SGBX) and modifies them right at the ports, cutting in windows and doors. Galvin's operation then either coordinates the finish work at the job site or an interim location. Any exterior finish like brick or wood can be added, but Galvin says most clients want to highlight the fact that they're going green. "They'll leave it very rectangular and some of the container exposed," he adds. (See sample photos at right.)