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This could be your new home Photo courtesy greenhomebuilding.com |
I stumbled across an interesting article a few days ago and have not been able to stop thinking about what I read. Apparently, those shipping containers seen piled in shipping yards and on backs of trains are now being used as affordable, sustainable living quarters. I don't know just how long this practice has been around, but it was new to me. I mean, I suppose I was aware of the poorer populations of some less prosperous nations using them out of necessity, but as a marketable way of life? In some countries it has apparently been a common practice for some time now, as the units have been used for modular student housing on some college campuses. Some places have constructed offices and apartment complexes. London's Container City is a large-scale example of "outside-the-box" thinking that it must have taken to repurpose these seemingly useless empty containers into really practical living spaces.
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| Container City II - containercity.com |
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| Student Housing Project Keetwonen, Amsterdam - thedailygreen.com |
Single-family homes are actually being constructed by piecing several containers together and uniting them in ways that look like normal construction from the curb.
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| Home in progress |
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| Completed home - greenhomebuilding.com |
I couldn't believe the designs that were possible using nothing but a bunch of rectangular blocks.
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| Redondo Beach House thedailygreen.com |
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| illy Push-Button Coffee House |
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| illy Push-Button Coffee House (button pushed) thedailygreen.com |
I was blown away that what originated as this:
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| Container living origins thedailygreen.com |
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| Port-a-Bach |
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| 12-Container House |
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| 12-Container House |
According to several articles (linked in various places above), the containers provide a strong, waterproof, fireproof, low-maintenance frame from which to carve these masterpieces of architecture. Adam Kalkin, of architectureandhygiene.com, said, "The cargo containers, with a life span of about 20 years when used for their original purpose, have an 'infinite life span' when stationary and properly maintained". (greenhomebuilding.com)
I would have never guessed these things would become the building blocks of the 21st century, but they are being used for everything from disaster relief shelters to luxury condos, green sheds, vacation homes and off-the grid adventurers. (thedailygreen.com)
For what it's worth, I actually hope to have a Port-a-Bach unit stashed away on a remote 10 acres somewhere one of these days.
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