Shipping containers can offer a multitude of uses. One of these uses is a shipping container clinic – a type of architecture that makes use of the containers as medical clinics that can be set up and shipped off to remote regions of the world. Shipping containers are strong, durable, relatively low cost and widely available, making them ideal for such use.
Shipping containers can offer a multitude of uses. One of these uses is a shipping container clinic – a type of architecture that makes use of the containers as medical clinics that can be set up and shipped off to remote regions of the world. Shipping containers are strong, durable, relatively low cost and widely available, making them ideal for such use.
In many of the poorer regions of the world, millions of people are suffering from lack of basic health care. For example, in parts of Southeast Asia, access to doctors is difficult, and diseases like malaria and diabetes are still widespread.
Mobile shipping container clinics are being built to not only keep costs low in such countries but also so that health care providers can reach more people without having to pay out for land or architecture.
Building Trust Internationals’ Story
The UK non-profit company was approached by a Cambodian hospital and asked to come up with a medical dispensary as the country’s main site was in danger of being redeveloped. Building Design International set up a competition and from over 200 entries, a three-person U.S. team was picked.
The team designed a 164-foot long clinic from a used shipping container which sits atop a flatbed truck. Inside the container there are two small exam rooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and a storage area. There’s also a larger treatment room. The entire unit can be pre-assembled before it is transported and once it reaches its site the shaded porch and ramp are constructed using local materials. Besides being a place for treatment, the clinic hosts educational and community activities.
The shipping container clinic is powered by solar panels on the roof in an aim to minimise the need for electricity. Exam rooms have been naturally ventilated thanks to holes punched in the side of the container and when doctor’s don’t require a great deal of privacy, they can tend to patients outside.
What’s the Point?
Shipping containers offer a great amount of flexibility. Container clinics, for example, can be increased in size by simply adding more units. The other point is that the clinics can stay on site for as long as they’re needed, be it 2 days or 10 years.
The History of Clinic Containers
There have been a number of organisations that have developed shipping containers over the years. Take a look at the timeline:
- Hospitals of Hope produced a Clinic in a Can in 2005 which consisted of a 53 foot trailer being sent to disaster-struck Haiti.
- Laurie Garrett, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, along with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, creates a “Doc in a Box” in 2006.
- Hospitals of Hope sent two Clinics in a Can to Haiti in 2010. They worked with Heart to Heart International in response to the earthquake.
- In 2010 Containers 2 Clinics also sent a prototype clinic to the Grace Children’s Hospital in Haiti.
- In 2011 a further Clinic in a Can, this time comprised of 3 units, was sent to Haiti in partnership with Aslan Youth Ministeries.
- Clinic4All established the Global Clinic Donation Program in 2012. The aim was to provide medical clinics for free to third-world Governments to assist developing countries to improve their healthcare needs, particularly in remote areas.
- In 2013 Haiti received another Clinic in a Can which was solar powered.
- Also in 2013, Arkitainer joined with a UK based company that specialises in container for community projects. A proposal is underway for completed residential community clinics, schools and vocational training locations in Cape Town, South Africa.
As you can see, with a little bit of shipping container modification, one can convert this ubiquitous item of freight into a place for caring and healing.
