... okay, maybe not one container but several, intricately stacked together to build a house.
Shipping containers have become the new material of choice for many architects and builders around the world. There is an estimated 18 million TUE (Twenty foot Equivalent Unit which is the measurements of a container) around the world, and each year many of these are deemed unusable for shipping. The out of service containers have started to pile up in port storage areas and people are now taking advantage of these useful steel boxes. Constructed to endure incredible weight and pressure, as well as withstanding mold, fire, and harsh weather, the containers make for excellent building material.
Image: maisonidekithomeIn many cases it is almost impossible to tell that the house has been made from containers. The builders of this home, Bernard Morin and Joyce Labelle, from Quebec used 7 containers and opted to cover the exterior with foam spray insulation and regular siding. The home is 3,000 square feet. While a traditional home of this size would cost approximately $400,000, the container version cost $175,000 and only took 10months to build. Not only did this house save the family a lot of money, but it also saved a lot of trees.
Images: maisonidekithome
Morin and Labelle chose to leave the interior of their home raw, so that the viewer is able to see the marks and serial numbers on each container.
Keith Dewey, of Victoria, B.C. has done the opposite with his container home, leaving the outside raw and creating a modern look on the interior.
Keith Dewey, of Victoria, B.C. has done the opposite with his container home, leaving the outside raw and creating a modern look on the interior.
Image: Zigloo
Dewey chose to paint the shipping containers mint green, as that is the colour that many containers are today and he wanted to create a link to the containers original use in the shipping business. The interior of the house is quite a contrast to the exterior, being open concept, very modern, and bright.
Images: Ziglo
As the world's population continues to grow, ideas like these will become more important to take note of and to put into practice. Not only do shipping container homes reduce the number of trees being chopped down to build homes, they are also reusing material that is piling up as 'trash' in ports around the world. Reusing these materials uses less energy than if we were to make new materials for homes, reduces the amount of Co2 which would be emitted, and eliminates the wasted space that is used to store the unwanted containers.
Some interesting links:
http://www.zigloo.ca/index/projects/zigloo_domestique_gallery
http://www.lowimpactliving.com/blog/2009/07/07/affordable-shipping-container-house-in-quebec/
http://weburbanist.com/2008/05/26/cargo-container-homes-and-offices/
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/articles/containers.htm
Some interesting links:
http://www.zigloo.ca/index/projects/zigloo_domestique_gallery
http://www.lowimpactliving.com/blog/2009/07/07/affordable-shipping-container-house-in-quebec/
http://weburbanist.com/2008/05/26/cargo-container-homes-and-offices/
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/articles/containers.htm
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