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An apartment building rising in Portland might not seem that unusual these days. But Matt Brown, vice president and co-founder of YBA Architects, says the four-story, mixed-use building he’s planning at 1505 N.E Killingsworth St. will stand out for the building material he plans on using鈥攕hipping containers.

鈥淚t’s not an 8-foot tube,鈥� Brown said of the units. 鈥淲e will use shipping containers, but we will be cutting into them to realize much larger units.鈥�

The ground floor of the project that Brown is calling 鈥淜15鈥� will be conventionally built for retail. The upper floors, which will contain apartments, will be made from shipping containers made from hardened, corrosion-resistant steel. The design, however, will be anything but industrial.

鈥淚t won’t just look like a stack of containers,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淲e want it to be a beautiful building only subtly related to its industrial heritage.鈥�

The 鈥渋ndustrial heritage鈥� of shipping containers is that they have to be strong to make an oceanic journey, but often don’t make a return trip to China, for example, and go to waste, he said.

Brown has been working with Valar Consulting Engineering and Andersen Construction for the past couple of years to iron out details for the non-conventional use of the containers. He is also consulting with the Portland Development Commission and recently requested an early design review from the city, which should take place in a couple of weeks.

The toughest part about his plan, he said, is meeting permitting requirements of the city.

鈥淧ermitting is one of the hurdles to overcome because it’s not a conventional system,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we are coming up with interesting and creative ways to get through the permitting process.鈥�

In theory, shipping containers would yield a stronger product than wood-built, Brown said. He also expects the per-square-foot building costs to be lower than construction using more-traditional materials.

Assembly of the units could also be done offsite, he said, which could speed up the construction process.

鈥淲e’re looking at the possibilities for offsite construction so (the units) can be delivered and erected on site in a matter of hours,鈥� he said.

By combining the shipping containers, Brown said, the units would have 9-and-a-half-foot ceilings and windows on at least two sides. Each unit will have a small air gap between adjoining units to reduce external sounds.

鈥淭hey’ll be very quiet and you won’t feel vibrations,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey’ll perform a lot better than standard market-rate apartments.鈥�

Norm Faris, principle with Valar Consulting Engineering, is intrigued by the prospect of doing something innovative in the apartment building. Faris said he has built living quarters from shipping containers for army barracks in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the Portland project is different.

鈥淚n (the case of the barracks), they were stacked on the ground and two stories high at most,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut on Killingsworth, it will be an elevated system on top of a structural frame.鈥�

Faris said he has been working with the city to come up with an inspection program for the containers. He hopes construction can start next spring.

鈥淥ur largest challenge is overcoming code requirements because it’s not a code-designed system,鈥� he said.

Even with design and construction difficulties, Faris said he is up for the challenge.

鈥淎s a Portland native, to see this pioneering effort and working with young, energetic professional is definitely exciting and what I strive for,鈥� he said.

Joel Andersen, president of Andersen Construction, sees potential in the future use of shipping containers in residential construction.

鈥淚t’s quite a thrill to take an abandoned resource and turn it into a Class A type livable space,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t could be instantly ready affordable housing and could change the landscape of how we live.鈥�

Shipping container construction could become either affordable or market rate apartments, Andersen said, depending on construction costs, and rental rates have not been established for the Killingsworth project.

鈥淚’m very excited to be working, and getting going, on the opportunity to really make it an incredibly streamlined project,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can’t make building materials cost less. But if we can find a way to expedite the process to use cost-effective materials in a creative fashion, why can’t we change the world?鈥�

The bottom line is that shipping container construction needs to cheaper than stick-built, he said.

鈥淲e are not using them as shipping containers, but actually as blocks,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’ll put the structure underneath so we can build more conventionally. It’s new and inventive, but not out of this world.鈥�

Since this is more or less a pilot project, Andersen said there will be a lot to learn, but he has great hopes for the future of using shipping containers for residential building.

鈥淭he most important part is that we can easily do something that is pushing the envelope and what I love most is the possibility of what comes next,鈥� he said.