Incoming students at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia have a new option for housing this year: Repurposed shipping containers.
Named Maroon Village, a new neighborhood of student housing opens up 157 beds in suite units, with rooms spanning 16.5 feet by 7 feet, with 8-foot-high ceilings.
The university calls it a “comfortable, modern living environment,” adding that it will be the first facility on campus fully equipped with solar panels.
“Constructed from repurposed shipping containers, Maroon Village is an innovative example of how to live greener without forgoing daily comforts,” an informational webpage from the college explains.
“On the outside, clean and minimalist architecture paired with an open courtyard will create a unique sense of place.”
The units were constructed by Custom Container Living, which has also made similar structures for Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.
“One of the things that really drove me to get into this business was to be able to provide affordable, sustainable, durable housing for people,” Robert Wagoner, founder of Custom Container Living, said in a blog post for the company. “Providing housing for students makes my heart happy and proud we could achieve this.”
On the inside of the dorms at Roanoke College, bright interiors open to suite-style rooms, where students have standard bunk beds, two desks, storage space, a vanity with a sink, private bathrooms, and individual, in-room thermostat controls.
The village also offers a common room with a TV, seating, and kitchenette, as well as three on-site laundry rooms.
“Units will be arranged around a central courtyard that offers open green space for a true village environment encouraging community and connection,” the college adds.
“Each unit will be renovated and modern with an energy-efficient design that meets the highest Energy Star standards. The result is a comfortable, conscientious approach to campus living.”
Already used to smaller living quarters, students are eager to try out the new campus living experience.
“It’s pretty spacious from what I thought it would be,” Cole Mendoza, a senior at Roanoke College, told WFXR News. “I mean, I can lie back and kick my feet. I can sit up, so it’s pretty good for me.”
“I expected it to be a lot like a tuna can,” junior Star-Angel Oppong added. “I came in here, I realized I could twirl and spin and all that fun stuff.”
Maroon Village dorms are a bit smaller than other residence halls, but right now, they will be a temporary place for students to stay as other dorms undergo renovations.
“While we renovate those spaces, we were looking for an option to house students in a sustainable way that made sense for campus in the ever-evolving culture of Roanoke College,” interim director of residence life and housing Ellasen Elroumy, told 10 News.
“That’s really where the idea came to be.”
Time will tell if the structures become a more permanent option for Roanoke’s campus housing.
At Fisk University, where Custom Container Living built similar dorms a couple of years ago to quickly provide housing for a rapidly growing student body, residents liked them enough to reconsider their temporary nature.
“They turned out great,” one student at Fisk said in a blog post for Custom Container Living. “You get just enough kitchen, just enough living room, a workspace and a bathroom. It's all I need as a student.”
For Roanoke College, it’s also a test case for students to embrace sustainability in a whole new way.
“This is an opportunity for students to engage in sustainable living in a way never before offered on campus,” the college’s webpage shares.
“It’s also a chance to experience a modern, creative style of housing that is gaining popularity around the country. Repurposed shipping containers are popping up in art galleries, hotels, tiny homes, cafés — and soon at Roanoke College.”
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Header image courtesy of G&H Contracting/Facebook
