Hurricane season is around the corner. Curious about how the green community is preparing for an environmentally-conscientious response when disaster strikes and power is lost? 

Joe Meppelink will be talking about Metalab Studios and its design of Solar-Powered Adaptive Container for Everyone (SPACE) containers, as well as the University of Houston Green Building Components (UHGBC) applied research program which has provided seed-funding for this and several other applied research projects over the past 3 years.

These recycled containers are built from a kit-of-parts composed of two recycled 20-foot shipping containers and a series of digitally designed and fabricated components that provide solar racking, shading, signage and exterior decking. SPACE units can withstand hurricane-force winds. They can be transported to an area of need via helicopters or flatbed trailers. Once they arrive, it only takes approximately 30 minutes to get a unit running and ready to power up.