Today we're going to look at container homes. I get a lot of calls about these and I realized it is time for more inspirational ideas! Today we're going to look at 5 different container home projects that couldn't be more different! There aren't any pictures on this page, but if you click on the red links, you will get a TON of pictures.
1) A high-end container home for sale in Denver. This container home is up for sale, according to cubed.com. This 3-bedroom, open-floor plan container home shows off what can be with a container home. It also shows that you really do get what you pay for. With an asking price of $749,000, clearly containers did not make this high-end home cheap.
2) 2 Private residences built from containers on top of a gallery and garage. Inhabitat.com reported on this 14-container duplex. The top level resident has a rooftop patio and the other one that is directly over the gallery has a walk-out patio. The open floor plan lets in tons of light and has an overall open feel to it. One question I have is if that ceramic insulation paint is working. I get a lot of interest in it, but I have yet to have a project where we use it or hear if anyone else has had any luck with it. If you have, please comment below!
3) A new container development in Detroit. 7 years in the making, containerized apartments in Detroit are a reality, according to mlive.com. The first building has two condos in it - am 1800sq ft 2 bed/2 bath and a 1000 sq ft 1 bed/1 bath. However there are plans for more sizes and configurations. Pricing will vary from $150,000-350,000, again showing that containers do not mean that the house is being built for free. It is just a different building material.
4) YMCA-sponsored studio suites for weekly rental in the UK. The Guardian report on a 10-unit structure built to address the need for affordable housing in Walthamstow. The first units rented for about $110/week to help lower income residents live in the high-rent area and also secure employment. The Guardian report, "Each unit has a bed, storage space, cooking and ensuite facilities."
5) Miniature apartments made from containers inside a warehouse in San Francisco Bay Area. Bloomberg News reports that one man is converting warehouse space into smaller apartments by outfitting containers placed inside the warehouse. Luke Iseman is trying to create a business out of this idea, which he is calling cargotopia. The containers have a shower, a bed and the most rudimentary kitchen and residents share bathrooms. While this may not sound ideal to many, the Bay Area's median rent is $4,272, according to the linked article. All the suddent that camp stove doesn't sound quite so bad.
These examples show how containers are flexible from high-end architecture to repeatable designs for lower-cost housing. What I like about all of these examples are that the designers worked with the containers. They didn't make them into something they are not, but worked to make the most of the containers.
Please note we do not do any design work, but we have these posts to help people interested in container houses to get ideas to bring to their architects and structural engineers.
Do you have an example of a container house to share?