Amazing Homes and Offices Built from Shipping Containers

The Versatility of Containers

Invented more than five decades ago, the modern shipping container is the linchpin in our global distribution network of products. In the containers go toys from China, textiles from India, grain from America and cars from Germany. In go electronics, chocolate and cheese.

While a number of resourceful people have converted shipping containers to makeshift shelters at the margin of society for years, architects and green designers are also increasingly turning to the strong, cheap boxes as source building blocks. Shipping containers can be readily modified with a range of creature comforts, and can be connected and stacked to create modular, efficient spaces for a fraction of the cost, labor and resources of more conventional materials.

Discover some of the exciting possibilities of shipping container architecture, from disaster relief shelters to luxury condos, vacation homes and off-the-grid adventurers. See what makes them green as well as cutting edge.

De Maria Design Redondo Beach House

With its modern lines and appealing spaces, the award-winning Redondo Beach House by De Maria Design turns heads. The luxury beachside showpiece was built from eight prefabricated, recycled steel shipping containers, along with some traditional building materials. According to the architects, the modified containers are \"nearly indestructible,\" as well as resistant to mold, fire, and termites. Seventy percent of the building was efficiently assembled in a shop, saving time, money and resources.

One of the containers can even sport a pool! The lessons learned from Redondo Beach House are being incorporated into a line of more affordable, accessible designs, soon available as Logical Homes.

London\'s Container City

Conceived by Urban Space Management, London\'s Container City first sprang up in the heart of the Docklands in 2001. It took just five months to complete the original 12 work studios, at a height of three stories. Shortly after that a fourth floor of studios and living apartments was added.

Container City was designed to be low cost, as well as environmentally friendly. Recycled materials made up 80% of building supplies. Architect Nicholas Lacey and partners and engineer Buro Happold used component pieces to build up adaptable living and work spaces.

Container City II

Container City I was a success, and in 2002, Urban Space Management added an addition, dubbed Container City II. Reaching five stories high, Container City II is connected to its earlier iteration via walkways. It also boasts an elevator and full disabled access, as well as 22 studios.

Container City II

A closer look at Container City II, which offers unique spaces to stir creativity and collaboration.

All Terrain Cabin

Canada\'s Bark Design Collective built the All Terrain Cabin (ATC) as a showcase for sustainable (and Canadian!) ingenuity. The small home is based on a standard shipping container, and is said to be suitable for a family of four, plus a pet, to live off the grid in comfort and style.

The cabin folds up to look like any old shipping container, and can be sent via rail, truck, ship, airplane or even helicopter. When you\'re ready to rest your bones, the cabin quickly unfolds to 480 square feet of living space, with a range of creature comforts.

The Ecopod

Another container home designed for on- or off-grid living is the Ecopod. Made from a shipping container, an electric winch is used to raise and lower the heavy deck door (power is supplied by a solar panel). The floor is made from recycled car tires, and the walls have birch paneling (over closed-cell soya foam insulation). The glass is double paned to slow heat transfer.

The Ecopod can be used as a stand alone unit or with other structures. It is designed to minimize environmental impact.

Adam Kalkin Quik House

Want your own container house? There\'s a six-month waiting list for the Quik House by architect Adam Kalkin, who is based in New Jersey. The distinctive Quik House comes in a prefabricated kit, based on recycled shipping containers (in fact a completed house is about 75% recycled materials by weight).

The standard Quik House offers 2,000 square feet, three bedrooms and two and one-half baths, though larger options are also available. The shell assembles within just one day, and all the interior details can be finished within about three months.

The Quik House comes in two colors (orange or natural rust bloom), and the estimated total cost, including shipping and assembly, is $184,000. You can add even greener options such as solar panels, wind turbines, a green roof and additional insulation (to R-50).

illy Push Button House

Italian coffee roasters illycaffe were inspired by Adam Kalkin\'s designs, and commissioned him to build the Push Button House. In just 90 seconds, a compact metal container opens into a fully furnished cafe, with functional kitchen, dining room, bathroom, bedroom, living room and even library. Andrea Illy, chairman and CEO of illycaffe, has said the company was interested in Kalkin’s ideas of \"home as one continuous mouldable surface, a relief against which human activity would pop out.\"

illy Push Button House

Kalkin\'s designs have been used for disaster relief, luxury showpieces and promotions. The illycaffe concept has been show in New York and Europe.

Cove Park Artists\' Retreat

Set on 50 acres of gorgeous Scottish countryside, Cove Park is an artist\'s retreat designed to stimulate and reinvigorate. Urban Space Management first brought in three repurposed shipping containers in 2001, and the center became so popular that more units have been added.

Peer Inside the Box

Let\'s take a closer look inside...

Inside Cove Park

Doesn\'t look like your average shipping box, does it?

Jakarta Container Living

It\'s important to remember that resourceful people have been living in repurposed shipping containers for decades, particularly around ports and along the margins in developing countries. The big metal boxes are dry, fire resistant and quite readily available.

Here, some men make their homes in containers in Jakarta. A community of people have lived in shipping containers for 20 years in Armenia, since the temporary housing set up for them after the devastating 1988 earthquake has never been replaced.

Mr. Wu\'s Container House

On his thought-provoking blog, Tony Wilkinson chronicles the life and struggles of Mr. Wu and other characters on Dragon Mountain in rural Taiwan. Mr. Wu is apparently very fond of his goats, as well as weeding his tobacco patch and playing mahjong.

Apparently he lives in this rusty reclaimed shipping container, and hopes for a wife one day.

LiNX Temporary Structures

Dublin-based designer Richard Barnwall envisioned this design, dubbed the LiNX, as a temporary structure for construction workers. The two-storey model pictured is to be comprised of four 20-foot containers.

Such designs offer flexibility and rapid deployment, and may even work for more permanent homes.

Ross Stevens House

Industrial designer Ross Stevens built this distinctive house in Wellington, New Zealand. Repurposed shipping containers form an intriguing contrast to the surrounding hill. In fact, the unique home makes use of the hill itself, expanding interior space beyond the containers.

Parts of the Ross Stevens house are surprisingly spacious and comfortable. There\'s even a cool table made from a repurposed door.

Ross Stevens House

Exterior view of the unique Ross Stevens house.

Student Housing Project Keetwonen, Amsterdam

Billed as the largest container city in the world, Amsterdam\'s massive Keetwonen complex houses 1,000 students, many of whom are happy to secure housing in the city\'s tight real estate market. Designed by Tempo Housing in 2006, Keetwonen is said to be a roaring success, with units that are well insulated, surprisingly quiet and comfortable.

Each resident enjoys a balcony, bathroom, kitchen, separate sleeping and studying rooms and large windows. The complex has central heating and high speed Internet, as well as dedicated bike parking.

Keetwonen has proved so popular that its lease has been extended until at least 2016.

Relaxed, Efficient Living

Check out those balconies! Keetwonen is admired in part because of the social atmosphere it fosters among college students.

Skinners Playground

Melbourne, Australia-based Phooey Architects built the whimsical Skinners Playground entirely out of used shipping containers and other reclaimed materials. Local children enjoy romping around the creative space, and get a unique chance to better understand the concept of zero waste.

LOT-EK MDU

This colorful, futuristic container home was designed by New York-based LOT-EK (which stands for \"low-tech\"). The so-called Modular Dwelling Unit (MDU) was fashioned from recycled industrial materials. The inside gets better light than one might think, and it\'s not too different from living in a stylish RV. And with its modular design it\'s almost as flexible!

LOT-EK Concept Tower

Also by LOT-EK is this fantastic concept for a tower at 87 Lafayette Street in New York City. The idea is for a 19-story artists\' loft building, built by stacking containers, with staircases at the north and south ends. The roof of the slanted tower would sport solar panels.

The building in front of the bold new design is an historic New York City firehouse, perhaps serving as a visual tie to the past.

The Music Box

Shipping container architecture can be used for many different applications, from apartments to studios, classrooms, offices, and even music recording studios!

Urban Space Management

In addition to showpiece developments like Container City, the modular design concept can work well in places where mobility, efficiency and low-cost are key requirements. Container structures can be moved from site to site, and their compact design saves space and keeps things simple and tidy.

Port-a-Bach

Need some flexibility with security? Need a temporary structure or small vacation home? Going off the grid? The Port-a-Bach system from New Zealand\'s Atelier Workshop might be a good fit.

Costing around $55,000, Port-a-Bach sleeps two adults and two children comfortably, in a dwelling that folds up into a fully enclosed steel shell.

Port-a-Bach

The Port-a-Bach system comes with large internal storage cupboards and shelves; a stainless steel kitchen; bathroom with shower, sink and composting toilet; bunk beds and dressing room. Fabric screens allow you to shape internal space, as well as shelter the outdoor deck area.

Port-a-Bach

Bach (pronounced Batch) is Kiwi slang for “Batchelor Pad,” and refers to the many small cabins that dot the famously picturesque country.

Port-a-Bach

Time to head back to the grind? No problem! Your bach closes right up.

M2ATK Container House

M2ATK designed this hip Container House for an artist. It\'s fully equipped with heating and cooling, a kitchen, bathroom, communications access and comfortable furniture.

M2ATK Container House

On the bottom floor of the Container House are the \"public spaces,\" such as the kitchen and living room. The second floor is the bedroom, and the top floor is a studio space, to work, read and \"let fly the imagination.\"

The Riverside Building, London

Offering fantastic views of the Thames for an affordable price, The Riverside Building hosts 22 offices in a modular design. Erected near Container City, the structure took a mere eight days (and 73 containers!).

Berlin Container Home

A container space in Berlin, used by the art group Platoon.

Havana Container House

Traditionally, container housing has popped up on the margins of places, in this case near a construction site in Havana, Cuba.

Modular Pools

One of the advantages of modular architecture is that it allows for adding accessories like pools.

Fawood Children\'s Center

Completed in 2004 by Urban Space Management, Fawood Children\'s Centre spans three blocks, and includes a nursery, office space and an adult education center. The container-based structures are connected by external walkways, and everything is housed under a colorful meshed shell.

Container Living in Amsterdam

Given the success of Keetwonen, it\'s perhaps not surprising to see other container homes across Amsterdam.

Utrecht Student Housing

Utrecht is home to the largest university in the Netherlands (Utrecht University), so it\'s not surprising that the region would face a housing crunch. Modified containers can help take up some of the demand.

Amsterdam School

Colorful containers in use on the docks in Amsterdam.

2+ Weekend House

We love this adorable mini housing unit from architect Jure Kotnik. In the epitome of doing more with less, the upper container provides shade to the entry of the lower. The lower also provides space for a small terrace.

Inside 2+ Weekend

The inside of each container may be small, but the modular nature means space can be readily added, or subtracted, as needs or finances change (this is how people regularly build in much of the developing world). Interiors are also flexible, and they can be made as appealing as your imagination allows.

Site-Specific Exhibition

If this is living in a box, sign us up!

Site-Specific and Buatalah Studio were asked to design a green building exhibition for Baan Lae Suan Fair in Bangkok. They came up with a design for a family of three, made out of four reused shipping containers and prefabricated modules. The home reuses graywater and incorporates spaces for growing food.

Site-Specific Exhibition

An exterior look at the innovative and welcoming Site-Specific design.

Site-Specific Exhibition

One can see how a small family might live comfortably in the versatile dwelling conceived by Site-Specific.

Container Living in Angola

A resident of Angola made this photo driving past some of his neighbors, who live in reclaimed shipping containers. The metal boxes make versatile materials, and can keep you dry, whether you\'re rich or poor.