Via contained: In southern California, a cool...

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[Background on, & press coverage of, Unconsumption can be found here and here.]

Consumption is a word used to describe acts of acquisition – generally, the acquisition of things, in exchange for money.

Unconsumption is a word used to describe everything that happens after an act of acquisition.

Unconsumption is an invisible badge.

Unconsumption means the accomplishment of properly recycling your old cellphone, rather than the guilt of letting it sit in a drawer.

Unconsumption means the thrill of finding a new use for something that you were about to throw away.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a service like Freecycle (or Craigslist, Goodwill, or Salvation Army) to find a new home for the functioning DVD player you just replaced, rather than throwing it in the garbage.

Unconsumption means enjoying the things you own to the fullest – not just at the moment of acquisition.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a pair of sneakers until they are truly worn out – as opposed to the nagging feeling of defeat when they simply go out of style.

Unconsumption means feeling good about the simple act of turning off the lights when you leave the room.

Unconsumption is not about the rejection of things, or the demonization of things. It’s not a bunch of rules.

Unconsumption is an idea, a set of behaviors, a way of thinking about consumption itself from a new perspective.

Unconsumption is free.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Founder & Editor: Rob Walker, journalist, Savannah, GA

Editorial & Community Manager: Molly Block, marketing and business development geek, Houston, TX

Brian W. Jones, designer & writer, Göteborg, Sweden

Kashvi Kumar, Environmental Studies and Economics major at New York University

Deirdre Nelson, ever threading artist, Glasgow, Scotland

Shanna Trenholm, writer. catalyst. force of nature. San Diego, CA

* * *

Alumnus & Unconsumption logo creator: Clifton Burt, graphic designer, Portland, OR

Further information about Unconsumption can be found here.

Original by Contained: All things container

11:17 pm - Thu, May 5, 2011: 26 notes

High-Res

Via contained:

In southern California, a cool $2-million building project repurposing 32 shipping containers is under way:

Students at the Waldorf School of Orange County will soon be going to class in steel shipping containers.

That’s the goal of an innovative, environmentally friendly expansion project at the private K-12 school in Costa Mesa that will add 10,000 square feet of classroom space, using recycled shipping containers as the primary building material.

The project, designed by S3 Advisors, includes four classrooms (using four containers apiece), administrative offices, restrooms, a science lab, art studio, virtual library, student lounge and auditorium (built with nine containers). Construction is expected to take less than five months.

Project coordinator Bill Hinchliff, who works for shipping giant ConGlobal, the source of Waldorf’s containers, said: ”Building with shipping containers is 10 to 20 percent cheaper than using traditional construction methods, and most of the construction can be done off site.”

The primary impediment to building permanent structures using recycled shipping containers is that most cities tend to shy away from such construction projects, saying they don’t comply with municipal building codes, Hinchliff said. But with patience, it is possible to work with city planners to come up with legally compliant, mutually agreeable solutions, he added.

(via The Orange County Register)

Additional information, including a brief video about the project, can be found here.