Analysis of the Application of Eco Interior Design Concepts

in Shipping Container Buildings:

Case Study in Arbanat Restaurant Malang

Zilzal Ananta Mustofa, Nurhayatu Nufut Alimin

and Mulyadi

Interior Design, Sebelas Maret University, Ir. Sutami Street, No. 36 A (57126), Surakarta, Indonesia

Keywords: Eco-Interior, Shipping Container Building, Sustainable Design.

Abstract: Globally, more than seventeen million shipping containers are left for days in ports and keep piling up at the

port since delivering empty shipping containers to their origin is considered cost-prohibitive. Therefore,

Shipping container building is one of the buildings that apply eco-friendly and sustainable practices in this

modern era. The Arbanat Restaurant is one of the interesting buildings made out of shipping containers in

Indonesia since it was the first shipping container building in Indonesia. This research tried to scrutinize

whether this building has already applied the sustainable principle. In this research, we use the descriptive

qualitative methodology with analysis data using eco-interior theory. The result of this research showed that

the Arbanat restaurant had applied sustainable principles, especially in eco-interior design with mild effort,

which means that it was not fully optimal or ideal. It is categorized as the first: substantial effort on the part

of space organization, lighting system, ventilation system, and indoor pollution. The second is a mild effort

with material selection, electromagnetic emission, and indoor waste management. The last one was a common

application on the part of water sanitation.

1 INTRODUCTION

Ecological and green design is an emerging topic

broadly discussed in building environment-related

fields (Aktas, 2013). In the field of interior study, this

concept is also known as an eco-interior design

(Kusumarini et al., 2011). It is an interior space

concept that is considered environmentally friendly

and energy-efficient. This concept is a part of the

sustainable interior design concept (Jain, 2023),

which could be attained by creating a design adaptive

to activity changes, energy conservation, and efficient

material management, in addition to thermal control

and views to outdoor access (Winchip, 2011).

Today’s design and construction activities must be

ecological and sustainable approaches (Soegijanto,

2014). Sustainable design means that a design must

respond to the environment; it is necessary to

consider the natural resources that affect human

beings in the future. One of the most critical aspects

of this approach is the idea of sustainability, which

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according to the World Commission on Environment

and Development "must take into account the needs

of the present without compromising the ability of

future generations to meet their own needs (Papanek,

1995). Moreover, the building design must prioritize

good planning comprehensively, which does not

damage nature but can blend with nature itself

(Alimin et al., 2021).

Shipping container building is one of the buildings

that apply eco-friendly and sustainable practices in

this modern era (Kiil, 2021). The shipping container

has been reused as a part of urban architecture since

it was introduced in the early 20th century

(Schwarzer, 2013). Globally, more than seventeen

million shipping containers are left for days in ports

after their first shipping period (Gharehgozli, 2012).

These shipping containers keep piling up at the port

since delivering empty shipping containers to their

origin is considered cost-prohibitive (Kuzmicz &

Pesch, 2019). Therefore, using a shipping container

as a building component or material could address

this issue (Primasetra, 2019). Furthermore, turning

Mustofa, Z., Alimin, N. and Mulyadi, .

Analysis of the Application of Eco Interior Design Concepts in Shipping Container Buildings: Case Study in Arbanat Restaurant Malang.

DOI: 10.5220/0012116000003680

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Advanced Engineering and Technology (ICATECH 2023), pages 375-381

ISBN: 978-989-758-663-7; ISSN: 2975-948X

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

375

shipping containers into buildings could significantly

reduce the energy used during the construction

process compared to the energy required for the

common building (Haque et al., 2022).

Arbanat Restaurant is one of many buildings made

out of shipping containers in Indonesia. This

restaurant exhibits a more interesting and variative

arrangement than other shipping containers in

Indonesia, making it the first shipping container

building in Indonesia mentioned in the well-known

Southeast Asian architecture magazine, Archinesia

vol.12 (ARCHINESIA 12, n.d.).

From an architectural perspective, Arbanat restaurant

is categorized as a building that implements a

sustainable concept for reusing shipping containers.

Reusing shipping containers as a building structure is

a reasonable practice of sustainability because most

of its structures are made of recycled materials (El

Messeidy, 2018). From the interior design

perspective, there has yet to be a study reporting the

ecological concept of Arbanat restaurant. Therefore,

this study attempts to identify whether or not Arbanat

restaurant’s building has met the sustainability

criteria, particularly its eco-interior aspects.

More specifically, this study aimed to see the

implementation of the eco-interior design concept in

Arbanat restaurant’s shipping container building. The

discussion of eco-interior design is necessary to

introduce this concept to the public, especially

designers, so they are more familiar with and apply it

(Soegijanto, 2014). To this end, we scrutinized the

object that has implemented ecological principles to

see its implementation and classification of its

application.

2 METHODS

This qualitative descriptive observed the interior of

the service area in Arbanat restaurant and

documented the area using a camera. An interview

with the restaurant manager was also conducted to

ensure data validity. Data were analyzed using eco-

interior design concepts and parameters. The

parameter was adapted from and developed based on

Sustainable Housing in Indonesia (Larasati et al.,

2007) by adjusting it to the eco-interior design

context.

The eco-interior concept included: space

organization, material selection, lighting system,

ventilation, water sanitation, indoor pollution,

electromagnetic emission, and indoor waste

management (Kusumarini et al., 2011).

The finding of this study is presented as follows: first,

we describe the interior design condition of Arbanat

restaurant based on the eco-interior design concept.

Second, we classify the implementation of the eco-

interior design concept in Arbanat restaurant based on

the eco-interior design parameters, which are

classified into common application, mild effort,

substantial effort, and ideal situation (Kusumarini et

al., 2011). Common application refers to the

implementation usually done by people without any

specific reason to respond to environmental issues.

The mild effort is an implementation done as a

response to the environmental issue, yet it does not

become the focus and has significant impacts. The

substantial effort is an implementation done as a

response to environmental issues, which is done

deliberately and thoroughly and brings significant

impacts. The ideal situation is an implementation

consciously done to respond to environmental issues,

which serve as a priority.

3 RESULTS

3.1 An Analysis of the Eco-Interior

Design Concept in Arbanat

Restaurant

Analysis of the application of the eco-interior design

concept in Arbanat restaurant was carried out using

an eco-interior design approach, namely in the

aspects of spatial organization, material selection,

lighting system, ventilation system, water sanitation,

indoor pollution, electromagnetic emission, and

indoor waste management.

3.1.1 Spatial Organization

Arbanat restaurant has three areas: private, service,

and public areas. On its ground floor, a shipping

container is placed diagonally, serving as the cashier

room, service room, and restroom. Other shipping

containers on this floor were arranged horizontally

and served as kitchen, service, dining, and coffee

shop areas. On the second and third floors, shipping

containers were stacked in different positions from

those on the ground floor. This arrangement aimed to

break opinions that shipping containers should be

stacked in parallel. Directions of these rooms were

adjusted to the circulation flow, natural opening, and

room accessibility. The rooms were set to have

minimal, multifunctional properties. Each room used

at least two 40ft shipping containers. The restaurant’s

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376

spatial organization was adjusted to the container

shape and lengthwise arrangement.

Figure 1: Spatial organization in Arbanat Restaurant's

ground floor, consisting of coffee shop (A), service room-1

(B), semi-outdoor area (C), service room-2 (D), kitchen (E),

and warehouse (F).

Figure 2: Spatial organization in Arbanat Restaurant's

second floor, consisting of semi-outdoor area (A), service

room-3 (B), restroom (C), praying room (D), office (E), and

warehouse (F).

Figure 3: Spatial organization in Arbanat Restaurant's third

floor, consisting of lounge (A), preparation room (B),

restroom (C), service area-4 (D), semi-outdoor area (E), and

service area-5 (F).

3.1.2 Material Selection

Shipping containers were used as the restaurant’s wall

and ceiling on the ground floor. However, some areas

were covered by gypsum board. The floor was made

using vinyl and ceramics. The interior materials were

dominated by gypsum, wallpaper, wood, iron, and

high-pressure laminate. Some furniture was made

from reclaimed wood from the restaurant's

surroundings, which was finished using water-based

(eco-friendly) and melamine-based (containing

hazardous chemicals) materials.

Figure 4: Interior design of the coffee shop area in Arbanat

Restaurant.

Figure 5: Interior design of the service room-1 in Arbanat

Restaurant.

Figure 6: Interior design of the service room-2 in Arbanat

Restaurant.

3.1.3 Lighting System

Arbanat restaurant is designed for energy efficiency

and conservation. The containers were arranged

following the sun's path. Small windows were also

installed in every room to reduce the restaurant’s

electric power consumption. Energy conservation

was done by optimizing natural light in every room

and utilizing energy-saving lamps. The restaurant

also attempted to reduce the sun's heat using plants

placed around the building. However, this restaurant

Analysis of the Application of Eco Interior Design Concepts in Shipping Container Buildings: Case Study in Arbanat Restaurant Malang

377

has not used renewable energy sources and still has

incandescent lamps in some areas.

Figure 7: Natural light in coffee shop area.

Figure 8: Natural light in service room-1.

Figure 9: Natural light in service room-2.

3.1.4 Ventilation System

The restaurant utilized both natural and mechanical

ventilation. The former included the installation of

ventilation and crossed building mass arrangement.

Meanwhile, the latter was in the form of air

conditioning (AC) and fans. The restaurant's energy

conservation effort was made by limiting AC use. It

was only turned on when customers came and during

the hot weather. The restaurant also used energy-

saving AC to ensure energy efficiency. The crossing

container arrangement, semi-outdoor area, and void

were found to significantly affect the airflow to the

centre of the building, thus reducing the heat.

Figure 10: Ventilation and air circulation flow in coffee

shop area.

Figure 11: Ventilation and air circulation flow in service

rome-1.

Figure 12: Ventilation and air circulation flow in service

rome-2.

3.1.5 Water Sanitation

The restaurant's water source was a deep well. The

water was stored in a tank, filtered, and passed to the

areas that needed water. The restaurant does not have

a water conservation system such as rainwater

collection and wastewater management. Arbanat

restaurant used water for cooking, washing, toilets,

and watering plants. There were two sewages: grey

water and black water. The former was disposed to

the public drainage, while the latter was disposed to

the septic tank.

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378

Figure 13: Water sanitation on the Arbanat Restaurant’s

ground floor.

3.1.6 Indoor Pollution

Arbanat restaurant used a natural ventilation system

to minimize indoor air pollution. It also selected eco-

and human-friendly finishing materials for several

rooms. However, some rooms still used chemical

finishing materials. The restaurant also maintained its

hygiene to minimize indoor pollution by using

Natural, non-hazardous cleaners. Arbanat restaurant

did not have a noise pollution management system

such as acoustic or noise control.

Figure 14: Void area in the center of Arbanat Restaurant.

Figure 15: Void area in the back of Arbanat Restaurant.

3.1.7 Electromagnetic Emission

Arbanat restaurant anticipated the radiation by using

electrical grounding. The power cables were neatly

inserted into PVC pipes to protect customers from

electric shock potentials. The electrical use in the

restaurant was also limited according to the service

area needs.

Figure 16: Electrical safety system in Arbanat Restaurant's

ground floor.

3.1.8 Indoor Waste Management

The restaurant's waste was divided into two types:

kitchen waste and food waste. The kitchen waste

comes from the cooking activities in the kitchen,

while the food waste refers to the customers’ food

leftovers. Each room was equipped with one type of

trash bin without separation of organic and non-

organic waste. The waste was collected in one place,

separated into organic and nonorganic materials, and

disposed to the public waste collection site.

Figure 17: Trash bin in Arbanat Restaurant’s service room.

Analysis of the Application of Eco Interior Design Concepts in Shipping Container Buildings: Case Study in Arbanat Restaurant Malang

379

3.2 The Classification of Eco-Interior

Design Concept Application in

Arbanat Restaurant

Table 1: Common Application of Eco-Interior Design.

ects Anal

sis

Spatial

organization

The room adjustment with natural

circulation and openings.

(

Substantial effort

)

Material

selection

Minimizing the use of common

materials without ecological

considerations.

(

Mild effort

)

Lighting system Using natural light during the day

and using efficient lighting at

night. (Substantial effort)

Ventilation

system

Using energy-saving air

conditioning, and optimizing air

circulation while minimizing air

conditioning use. (Substantial

effort)

Water

sanitation

Using conventional water sources

and direct drainage. (Common

lication

)

Indoor pollution Adequate attention to the cause

and effect of indoor pollution.

(

Substantial effort

)

Electromagnetic

emission

Minimal understanding of the

electromagnetic issue. (Mild

effort)

4 CONCLUSIONS

Based on the analysis result, applying the shipping

container does not mean that building has already

applied sustainable principle. In this research, the

Arbanat restaurant has not completely applied the

eco-interior design concept as part of sustainable

principle. The restaurant’s application was divided

into three categories: substantial, mild, and common

efforts. A substantial effort was made for the spatial

organization, lighting system, ventilation, and indoor

pollution. A mild effort was made for material

selection, electromagnetic emission, and indoor

waste management. However, the restaurant’s water

sanitation is considered to be a common application.

Figure 18: The classification of eco-interior concept in

Arbanat restaurant.

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