Take a closer look at those sensational container homes that made up our YouTube Chanel’s “15 Iconic Shipping Container Homes”…
1. ADAM KALKIN MAINE 12 CONTAINER HOUSE
This Blue Hill, Maine container home, designed by architect Adam Kalkin was built in 2003. Its unique design still looks so fresh orginal today that it has transcended two decades of container house design. This iconic shipping container home stretched the boundaries of modern design and is truly a work of art. It was created by stacking a dozen orange “reclaimed” shipping containers in a T-shape while replacing some of the steel pannels with large windows looking out over the rocky peninsula to Blue Hill Bay.
With sleek, forward, modern design that looks this great, you’re usually looking at a huge price tag. But by using readily available, inexpensive shipping containers to construct the home, Kalkin managed to keep the price of this stunning home at about $125/square foot.
Kalkin transforms space. The playfulness of the interior spaces, the feeling as if there are houses, courtyards, and exterior entrances within the house; there are so many surprises, so much to catch your eye.
2. THE 2+ WEEKEND HOUSE – A SHIPPING CONTAINER HOME IN TREBNJE, SLOVENIA
The second of our Iconic Shipping Container Homes is the two level ” 2+ Weekend House” container home which is certainly minimalist in its approach. The building composed of two containers perpendicular to each other, which is one of the earliest configurations of this cross box design. The upper container provides a projecting roof above the entrance as well as serves to shelter the back terrace. The ceiling of the bottom container is also a terrace of the first floor.
Apparently the “The pink-dotted façade illustrates the wide range of possibilities for tailor-made exteriors, the choice of which is as simple as deciding about which mobile phone cover to put on”.
3. LIRAY HOUSE – A SHIPPING ECO CONTAINER HOME BY PROYECTO ARQTAINER, SANTIAGO, CHILE
Designed and constructed by Proyecto ARQtainer from Santago Chile, architect Ruben Rivera Peede produced Liray House – an eco container home project for one of his clients. The unabashed exclamation of cargotecture and its bold statement on the landscape defines its iconic status.
The brief was to design and construct a house quickly, that was earthquake resistant, at low cost and be to be no more than 115m2 in size. At a final cost of around USD$75,000 and taking just three months to construct.
Liray House is constructed from five recycled shipping containers. Two 40 feet shipping containers are used for the bedroom areas, while three 20 foot shipping containers form the public spaces (living room, kitchen) and service areas.
4. LAKESIDE SHIPPING CONTAINER RETREAT IN SRI LANKA
Simplicity, form, function and use of recycled materials dominates this structure. This lakeside retreat was put together with used shipping containers and timber from weapon boxes in the Maduru Oya area of Sri Lanka, according to Dezeen. Located on an army training camp, this simple container solution was designed by Damith Premathilake and built by soldiers with materials found in the area.
5. THE SHIPPING CONTAINER MEDICAL COMPOUND FOR THE SALAM CENTER KHARTOUM, SUDAN
A decision of pure inspiration, and a grand scale recycling project that both provided needed facilities and removed a waste problem resulted in this large scale projects success.
The Salam Emergency Cardiac Surgery Center provides highly specialized care to patients with heart disease and is located in Soba, Khartoum – Sudan. During its construction the architects Studio tamassociati observed the large amount of discarded shipping containers that were used to transport medical supplies lying around the building site, and then decided to use them.
Over ninety 20 foot containers were assembled together to create housing for the Salam Center’s international staff compound. Each container is divided into two 20 foot lodgings that consists of a bedroom, bathroom, and a small veranda opening onto the courtyard. Seven 40 foot containers were used to create the cafeteria.
The containers were insulated with a “layer system”, with the internal walls padded with 5cm thick insulating panels, and the outer skin with a second insulated roof and a bamboo brise-soleil system. In this way the sun never directly hits the shipping containers. An innovative air conditioning system has been tested by using solar panels and chilling machines – saving a huge amount of energy. Solar panels also provide hot water for the residences.
The Salam Emergency Cardiac Center was completed in 2009, and was conceived as a system of buildings and inter related spaces – not just a structure. The site is located South of Khartoum, overlooking the Nile River. The project includes a hospital organized in large courtyard layout, a guest house building, building services, several gardens, a pavilion for prayer and meditation, and a village for staff.
6. ADAM KALKIN’S “OLD LADY HOUSE” SHIPPING CONTAINER HOME
Kalkin’s iconic Old Lady House redefined container home living, and has was an early inspiration to Cargotecture. It is also one our favourite Iconic Shipping Container Homes.
The main living space of the light-flooded Adam Kalkin Container House in Califon, NJ is three shipping containers wide by two shipping containers tall with two sides made almost entirely of glass. Named the Old Lady House, this bright, airy home has modern finishes.
Despite the fact that the home is dubbed the Old Lady House, all of the finishes within it – a concrete floor, large glass panes, sliding doors, stainless steel, beams and columns – speak to an edgy, industrial aesthetic. However, to keep the home in line with its rustic surroundings, Kalkin used natural materials like fir flooring and mahogany sliding doors in the smaller spaces that include a dining alcove, a half-bath, a pantry, and mechanical and laundry rooms.
One third of the floor space in the main living area is occupied by a 12-foot long kitchen island where the owner can prepare food while gazing on peaceful views of the forest. Adjacent to the kitchen space, two large sofas are available for lounging near a cozy fireplace. Since all of the corrugations are hidden behind the drywall, you can’t even tell that you’re in a shipping container unless you happen to peek behind the stairwell.
7. FUTURE SHACK BY SEAN GODSELL
Conceived 1985-2001 Future Shack is a very early shipping container conversion that really first introduces an alternative comercial use for the structure. By changing the shipping containers use from transport to inhabitation, Goodsell redfines a containers purpose.
Designed as a mass produced relocatable house for emergency and relief housing, recycled shipping containers are used to form the main volume of the building. A parasol roof packs inside the container. When erected, the roof shades the container and reduces heat load on the building. Legs telescope from the container enabling it to sited without excavation on uneven terrain.
This house has applications for a variety of needs – post flood, fire, earthquake or similar natural disasters, temporary housing, third world housing, remote housing and so on. The universal nature of the container means that the houses can be stockpiled and easily transported throughout the world. The Future Shack can be fully erected in 24 hours.
8. THE LILLE RED SHIPPING CONTAINER HOUSE, LILLE, FRANCE
Retaining shipping container form, original stepped design, and construction with in local planning policies brings this container house in to our iconic list.
Architect Patrick Partouche designed this two level 240m2 shipping container house in 2010. Constructed by Progeco Dunkirk with the use of 8 recycled shipping containers, and with the use of terracotta, metal, wood, polycarbonate and glass, this building stands in real contrast to its more rural surroundings.
Adhering to all external regulations of this new shipping container home’s local subdivision, and of the municipality, this building also has remarkable energy and acoustic performance.
The shipping container units took 6 months to prefabricate off site, and then were by transported by truck and assembled on site using a crane in 3 days.
9. THE REDONDO BEACH HOUSE CONTAINER HOME
Blending cargotecture with modernist styling in a prime residential beachside neighborhood, Peter DeMaria’s iconic home brougt cargotecture to the mainstream.
The Redondo Beach Shipping Container House by Peter DeMaria Design Associates is a single-family custom home design utilizing recycled ISO cargo containers. The Redondo Beach Shipping Container House is constructed with a combination of prefabricated shipping containers and traditional buildings materials, and is a stunning beachfront residence.
This project is a Recycled Steel Shipping Container based building that also employs a combination of conventional stick frame construction and prefabricated assemblies. The Redondo Beach Shipping Container House it is the first in a line of homes that will be available from DeMaria Design’s “packaged architecture” affiliate, Logical Homes.
10. CROSSBOX BY CGARCHITECTES – SHIPPING CONTAINER HOME
Expanding upon the cantalivered form, Crossbox realises container home living potential.
CGARCHITECTES designed and built this stunning “Crossbox” house in Brittany, France. The modern residence is clad in a low-maintenance material for a sleek finish, while the inside is simply furnished and bright. The top of the bottom box features a green roof at either end, which provides an extra planting region for the home. Meanwhile the overhang of the top box provides shade for a deck area and a mini car.
11. RECYCLED CONTAINER HOUSE IN BUKIT TINGGI, MALAYSIA
Exhibiting innovation in design, overcoming the challenges of a sloping site re-purposing of materials this container house is very much at home in the Iconic Shipping Container Homes list.
Designer Ken Kwok leads the firm Anand Bungalows, and has a wealth of experience in residential design having built hundreds of homes in and around Malaysia. This recycled container house located in Bukit Tinggi, Pahang and consists of six, stacked containers – four of which are oriented north and south and two oriented east and west. The four containers are stacked to create a two-story volume with the doors oriented to the north to form partial enclosures for the balconies and windows. In between the container volumes, a double height atrium was constructed allowing for proper ventilation – hot air rises and the windows on opposing sides encourage cross ventilation.
12. THE MEKA SHIPPING CONTAINER HOME POP UP, NY
Founder, Michael de Jong came up the idea for the MEKA after years of building luxury homes in Belize, hiring Jason Halter and Christos Marcopoulous for the design. Michael states, “Many prospective homeowners want to avoid the hassle, wait time and hidden costs of traditional construction. No one wants to wait a year and then find out the price of materials and laborers have increased by a third or more. No one wants to deal with unreliable contractors or builders.”
Eco-friendly and extremely flexible, each shipping container is paneled in cedar wood over a steel frame shipping container, with doubled glazed argon-filled windows, a bamboo interior, slate bathroom, and 100% cedar cladding. The home works well in an array of different environments and one side of the module can be opened up to create a deck. Moreover, they can be effortlessly transported and the modular system allows for eased expansion in the event the inhabitant’s space needs to grow. Solar power integration is also available for those interested in off-grid living.
13. THE R2X20 CONTAINER HOME PROJECT BY A SITE-SPECIFIC EXPERIMENT, THAILAND.
Deservedly making our Iconic Shipping Container Homes list is the R2x20 Container Home. A Site-Specific Experiment is run by Chutayaves Sinthuphan out of Bangkok, Thailand. This one-bedroom, one bathroom home was built using two, 20-foot containers with cutouts for windows and doors was built for a business man seeking accommodation closer to his work.
There’s a prefab bathroom inside and the interior is insulated with a recycled content material. The relocatable nature of the project, the lower cost structure and the termite resistance nature of the steel shipping container first attracted the owner’s interest.
14. CINCO CAMP: ROGER BLACK’S TEXAS SHIPPING CONTAINER RETREAT
The NY Times.com ran an article entitled “Self-Contained in Texas” which shows Roger Black’s Texas retreat. Made of five 8-by-20-foot containers, each one houses its own particular function and is joined by a walkway with a small deck and integrated grill.
When Mr Black visits, about once a month, he unlatches the double doors on each of the five 8-by-20-foot shipping containers to reveal, from left to right, a living room, a bedroom, another bedroom, a kitchen and dining area and a storage and utility room. The last is filled with hardware to support several satellite Internet connections, so while he’s out of the way he’s never out of touch.
The opening on each compartment is fitted with sliding glass doors and screens to keep out stinging, biting and otherwise menacing creatures, and the rooms all face west so Mr. Black and any guests can watch the spectacular sunsets as well as distant locomotives toting the same kinds of shipping containers used in the home’s construction.
15. MANIFESTO HOUSE – A CONTAINER HOME BY JAMES & MAU, FOR INFINISKI
Rounding up our Iconic Shipping Container Homes list is Manifesto House. Infiniski designs and builds eco-friendly houses and buildings based on the use of recycled, reused and non polluting materials and the integration of alternative and renewable energy. The Infiniski projects are designed by James & Mau – Architects and designers, Jaime Gaztelu and Mauricio Galeano, founders and partners of Infiniski.
James & Mau offer Innovative and contemporary designs based on bioclimatic and modular architecture. Infiniski is not only green, it is cheaper and faster … it tries to think the values of architecture and construction differently; a contribution to the needs of our changing environment.
