OBI Seafoods

Award Criteria

Architectural Excellence

OBI Seafoods’ Alaskan fishing village is made of ten modified shipping containers stacked into five two-story structures to maximize allotted space. The living units comfortably house fishermen for the six-month fishing season, and thanks to the durability of containers, the units can withstand the harsh Alaskan winter when the season ends. The exterior of the structure shows two rooms per container and a staircase leading to the second story. The interior holds a shared restroom in the middle of the two rooms. This project is focused on simplicity of design with an emphasis on repeatability to provide comfort to workers without sacrificing durability. OBI uses this village to attract and keep top talent while using reliable structures in the tough Alaskan climate.

Technical Innovation & Sustainability

When OBI Seafoods wanted to upgrade the workforce living units the team noticed that their existing container-based units had impressive longevity, unlike their existing wood-built units. The team turned to Falcon to create improved container living spaces that were unquestionably comfortable. The units traveled by rail from Texas to Seattle, then took a barge to Alaska, which was all made possible by the module style of the units. Site set-up was efficient, lasting only a few days, thanks to the manufacturing that was completed offsite. The use of shipping containers also helped provide a sustainable element to the project, helping OBI reuse boxes that would otherwise go to waste.

Cost Effectiveness

Shipping containers were a cost-effective building material that helped make the creation of this village a reality for OBI Seafoods. With significant time savings—through modifications completed at an offsite manufacturing facility and module site set up—labor, and, building material, OBI was able to provide top quality living units that are now the coveted living arrangement for onsite fishermen. The ease of repeatability will allow OBI to rearrange or add on to the existing living units in the future. And finally, transporting the containers by rail and barge was a unique solution that helped OBI avoid paying for what otherwise would have been a cost-prohibitive cross-country drive.