<p>Sen. Jack Reed was in town Friday, March 25, to announce a $150,000 federal grant to explore the use of shipping containers as energy-independent, sustainable housing. RISD students are developing designs, while the Brown-affiliated Rhode Island Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will investigate the commercial potential.</p>

A new collaboration between Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design to turn shipping containers into sustainable, “off-the-grid” homes took flight on Friday, as officials announced the federal funding and the business partner selected to participate in the initiative.

A creative venture: Clyde Briant, Brown’s vice president for research, and Sen. Jack Reed announced plans to explore the possibilities of renovating shipping containers as sustainable housing. Credit: Mike Cohea/Brown University
A creative venture Clyde Briant, Brown’s vice president for research, and Sen. Jack Reed announced plans to explore the possibilities of renovating shipping containers as sustainable housing. Credit: Mike Cohea/Brown University
The funding comes from a $150,000 appropriation secured by Sen. Jack Reed. Students in a special design studio at RISD are working on design plans for the shipping container homes. If a design is deemed viable, the Rhode Island Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Brown University will seek to commercialize it.

The company that will work with the partners was co-founded by Brown graduate Peter Gill Case, also a RISD graduate, and Joe Haskett, a RISD alumnus. The pair built the largest U.S. commercial office building built from shipping containers. It is located in Providence.

Clyde Briant, vice president for research at Brown, said the collaboration benefits both Brown and RISD. “It’s through these projects that we can take on these challenges and solve them in ways that we could not do on out own,” he said at a news conference announcing the initiative.