Shipping Container Homes: 10 Most Amazing

Home is a necessity for everyone: some people just need a shelter to live while others may want to build a masterpiece. This leads to some really unusual types of houses, ranging from big, small, wooden, concrete, brick, stone, vernacular and… shipping containers. Yes, you heard it right, people even use old cargo containers to build astounding houses.

The idea might seem a bit impractical, but if architects can construct a 2700+ feet building, they can make this idea work as well. Hundreds of shipping container homes are already in use today, and we are going to list the 10 most amazing.

Containers of Hope

Architect: Benjamin Garcia Saxe, Location: San Jose, Costa Rica

This is a tiny home built on demand to be convenient and inexpensive. Benjamin Garcia Saxe constructed this house with two 40 ft shipping containers for Peralta family who dreamt of having their house outside of the city. Containers of Hope is located just 20 minutes away from the city in an open space.

The house has huge windows to let sun rays in and can be opened to take in fresh air. The diagonal roof makes sure that all hot air is released, and it is said that they don’t even have to use air conditioning here. The house did cost $40,000, which is quite inexpensive for such a piece of art.

Container Guest House

Architect: Jim Poteet, Location: San Antonio, TX, USA

Container Guest House is a tiny house made of just one 40-ft shipping container, but it’s a fine example of art. The house is built on recycled telephone poles along with big windows and sliding doors to keep it ventilated.

The floor and walls of the house are covered with repurposed bamboo wood for style and comfort. The container house also has a tiny garden space up top to make it even more beautiful.

Crossbox House

Architect: CG Architectes, Location: Pont-Péan, France

As the name suggests, Crossbox House consists of 4 shipping containers designed to make a cross like shape. The house covers total 1,119 square feet area with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen and a living room.

The three bedrooms are on top and kitchen and living room are at the bottom. The house basically offers everything you can expect in a standard house, but it is very inexpensive and beautiful.

Zigloo Domestique Complete

Architect: Keith Dewey, Location: Victoria, Canada

If you wanted to gaze upon a complete double story house made of shipping containers, then Zigloo Domestique Complete will feast your appetite. It is a 2 story house that looks just like any other standard house, but it is made of shipping containers and recycled material.

The house has been created with eight 20-ft long containers covering total area of 1,920 square feet. The floor is made of concrete to offer a strong base, and hot water tubes are added in the floor for pleasing temperature and on-demand boiler system.

Maison Container

Architect: Patrick Partouche, Location: lille, France

Maison Container is a simple shipping container house made up of 8 containers stacked over each other making 4 rows. It has glass doors and windows in front with a metal door in front of them that can be opened and closed as required.

The house covers total 2,240 square feet area with a spacious interior. It may seem congested, but it is actually spacious with full size bedrooms, living room, kitchen and a room for children.

Casa El Tiemblo

Architects: James & Mau, Location: Ávila, Spain

It might seem like that this container house haven’t been completed yet, but behind this simple look it hides an amazing interior (see gallery). Casa El Tiemblo is built using four 40-ft shipping containers covering a 2,045 square feet area.

The ground floor walls are completely made of glass windows to let sun rays in. It consists of a living room, kitchen, X bedrooms and Y bathrooms. The total construction cost of the house is €140,000 that is approximately $190,000.

The Caterpillar House

Architect: Sebastián Irarrázaval, Location: Santiago, Chile

A huge shipping container home, The Caterpillar House is located on a hillside where the whole city is located at the back. This home is built using 12 different sizes of containers covering total 3,800 square feet area.

The house has been built with a slope design with both ends open for ventilation. This removes the need for an electric cooling system, the mountain’s cool air and the design is enough to keep it cool.

Hybrid House

Architect: EcoTech, Location: Shadow Mountain, California

Hybrid House is located near a dessert, so most of its features are also targeted towards surviving that kind of climate. A total of five 20-feet shipping containers have been used for its construction and it covers a total 2,300 square feet area. Recycled steel has also been used to make sure it is strong enough to survive desert conditions.

It also has built-in water collection system that collects rainwater to save and reuse. Finally, there’s a breezeway to keep the house ventilated without any need of cooling system.

12 Container House

Architect: Adam Kalkin, Location: Blue Hill, Maine

This is what you get when you combine 12 containers to make a home, a huge space enough to cater the needs of a big family. 12 Container House walls are completely made of glass with reinforced steel to make them strong enough. The ensemble creates a 4,000 square feet space with garage-like doors.

The inside is divided in 2 sections, with the bedrooms in the upper story which can be accessed using two steel stair cases. The kitchen and the living room are open on the ground floor, and the rooms come with their own bathrooms.

The Beach Box

Architect: Andrew Anderson, Location: Amagansett, New York

The Beach Box is the first shipping container home in Hamptons built using 6 shipping containers. Four of the them make the base of the house with two more on top. That translates to a total of 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms on the lower floor, and a living room plus kitchen at the top.

It has been built to be eco-friendly with many features like, tankless water heating, 16 SEER HVAC unit, EcoTop Counters, Energy star Appliances and thermoplastic roof. It is located 600-ft away from the ocean and covers total area of 2,000 Square feet, excluding the 1,300 square feet of deck space.

Which one of these houses made you drool? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Karar Haider
Categories: Design, Home
Tags: container, house