Shipping containers meet a variety of requirements: Modern. Check. Low-cost. Check. Environmentally-friendly. Check. These homes make them work.
Two shipping containers flank a taller common space in this residence designed by Studio H:T. The bedrooms are in the containers while the entry, dining, living, and a loft is in the center area. The project is planned to be off-the-grid using solar orientation, passive cooling, green roofs, pellet stove heating, and photovoltaics to create electricity.
Benjamin Garcia Saxe Architecture designed this orange container home for clients in San Jose, Costa Rica. The goal was to provide them with the spectacular views of the natural landscape. The roof between the two containers is made from the scrap metal.
Copenhagen-based architecture firm arcgency created the “WFH House” in Wuxi, China, out of three stacked shipping containers. Upcycled steel shipping containers were used for a steel frame, which was then clad with a sustainable bamboo facade. The home includes a rainwater collection system, solar cell-clad green roof, skylights, and permeable paving.
This structure, which was exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is called the MDU, or Mobile Dwelling Unit, and was designed by Lot-EK. It is meant to travel with its dweller to long term destinations. When traveling, its sub-volumes are pushed in to fill the entire container, and then interlock so the container is left flush and can be shipped worldwide. When in use, the sub-volumes are pushed out, and its 500-square-foot interior is suitable for living and working.
Note the white corrugated wall; that should tip you off that this is the interior of a shipping container home. In fact, this Houston residence is composed of three containers, to make a total of 1,538-square feet of living space. Architect Christopher Robertson of local firm Robertston Design says one of the goals was to make it feel like a typical home.
The emerald green-accented Crossbox house in Brittany, France was designed by CG Architects. Two shipping containers are cantilevered above two more, and there’s a planted roof too. Like traditional setups, the bedrooms are on top and the living/dining spaces below.