A few years ago, Rory Rubin ’92 began noticing an abundance of abandoned shipping containers across the United States and Canada, and she wondered if something could be done to repurpose the incredibly durable structures.
Rubin spent time researching how other countries repurposed them, transforming them into beautiful, livable spaces. Two years later, Rubin’s thoughts grew into her own construction company, S.I. Container Builds. Founded with her husband, Dan, and another business partner, the company takes one-trip shipping containers and turns them into affordable, sustainable living spaces that leave minimal carbon footprints without compromising quality.
“My husband and I will be empty nesters in the next few years and feel that it is our obligation—personally and professionally—to try to be more sustainable and make other people’s lives easier, even in little ways,” Rubin said.
Rubin studied psychology and art history at IC before getting a master’s degree in social administration from Case Western University. But she’s always had an interest in design and construction, thanks to her father, who was an architect, and she is grateful she got the chance to tap into that passion.