12 Homes Made From Shipping Containers - Design Milk

8/19/2019 12 Homes Made From Shipping Containers - Design Milk

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12 HOMES MADE FROM SHIPPINGCONTAINERSPosted by Marni Katz (http://design-milk.com/author/marni/) on 05.07.13 in Architecture (http://design-

milk.com/category/architecture/), Interior Design (http://design-milk.com/category/interior-design/), Main

(http://design-milk.com/category/main/)

Photo by Braden Gunem

Shipping containers meet a variety of requirements: Modern. Check. Low-cost. Check.

Environmentally-friendly. Check. See twelve homes that make them work and check out

our resources for shipping container builders and plans at the end of the article.

Above: Two shipping containers flank a taller common space in this residence designed

by Studio H:T (http://www.studioht.com/). The bedrooms are in the containers while the

entry, dining, living, and a loft is in the center area. The project is planned to be o!-the-

grid using solar orientation, passive cooling, green roofs, pellet stove heating, and

photovoltaics to create electricity.

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homes-studio-ht/)

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(http://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/roundup-container-

homes-benjamin-garcia-saxe-architecture/)

Photo by Andres Garcia Lachner

Benjamin Garcia Saxe Architecture (http://www.benjamingarciasaxe.com/) designed this

orange container home for clients in San Jose, Costa Rica. The goal was to provide them

with the spectacular views of the natural landscape. The roof between the two containers

is made from the scrap metal.


homes-arcgency-wfh-house-wuxi-china/)

Copenhagen-based architecture firm arcgency (http://arcgency.com/) created the “WFH

House” in Wuxi, China, out of three stacked shipping containers. Upcycled steel shipping

containers were used for a steel frame, which was then clad with a sustainable bamboo

facade. The home includes a rainwater collection system, solar cell-clad green roof,

skylights, and permeable paving.

http://arcgency.com/http://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/roundup-container-homes-arcgency-wfh-house-wuxi-china/http://www.benjamingarciasaxe.com/http://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/roundup-container-homes-benjamin-garcia-saxe-architecture/


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homes-lot-ek-mdu/)

Photo courtesy of the Walker Art Center

This structure, which was exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York

City and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is called the MDU, or Mobile Dwelling Unit,

and was designed by Lot-EK (http://www.lot-ek.com/). It is meant to travel with its

dweller to long term destinations. When traveling, its sub-volumes are pushed in to fill the

entire container, and then interlock so the container is left flush and can be shipped

worldwide. When in use, the sub-volumes are pushed out, and its 500-square-foot

interior is suitable for living and working.


homes-guzman-ph-lot-ek/)

Photo by Paul Warchol

Lot-EK (http://www.lot-ek.com/) also designed this 1,500-square-foot penthouse

apartment in New York City. The project involved transforming a mechanical room and

adding a bedroom with a patio on the roof. Pictured above is a yellow aluminum

container that has been partially deconstructed to become an open outdoor space.

http://www.lot-ek.com/http://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/roundup-container-homes-guzman-ph-lot-ek/http://www.lot-ek.com/http://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/roundup-container-homes-lot-ek-mdu/


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homes-dwell-interior/)

Photo by Jack Thompson

Note the white corrugated wall; that should tip you o! that this is the interior of a shipping

container home. In fact, this Houston residence is composed of three containers, to make

a total of 1,538-square feet of living space. Architect Christopher Robertson of local firm

Robertston Design (http://robdes.com/ ) says one of the goals was to make it feel like a

typical home.


homes-dwell-interior-2/)

Poteet Architects (http://www.poteetarchitects.com/), a firm known for its adaptive reuse

of existing buildings, designed this 32-square-foot guest house in San Antonio, Texas

using a shipping container. The interior is lined with bamboo plywood for the floor and the

walls and the deck is made out of recycled soda bottles. It has a planted roof too.

http://www.poteetarchitects.com/http://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/roundup-container-homes-dwell-interior-2/http://robdes.com/%E2%80%8Ehttp://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/roundup-container-homes-dwell-interior/


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homes-crossbox-by-cg-architects/)

The emerald green-accented Crossbox house in Brittany, France was designed by CG

Architects (http://www.cgarchitectes.fr/). Two shipping containers are cantilevered above

two more, and there’s a planted roof too. Like traditional setups, the bedrooms are on top

and the living/dining spaces below.

(http://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/roundup-shipping-

container-homes-cove-scotland/)

Cove Park (http://covepark.org/residencies/fielding-mentored), located on 50-acres of

Scotland’s west coast, is a community of established artists. In 2002, Container City

(http://www.containercity.com/cove-park.html) created three cubes made of shipping

containers to act as artist retreats, and another six were added in 2006.

http://www.containercity.com/cove-park.htmlhttp://covepark.org/residencies/fielding-mentoredhttp://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/roundup-shipping-container-homes-cove-scotland/http://www.cgarchitectes.fr/http://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/roundup-container-homes-crossbox-by-cg-architects/


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homes-adam-kalkin-califon-nj/)

This Adam Kalkin Container House (http://www.quik-build.com/index.htm) in Califon,

New Jersey, is three shipping containers wide by two shipping containers tall. Glass on

two sides allows ample light to shine in, and the industrial materials continue throughout,

with a concrete floor and steel beams and columns. Rustic fir flooring and mahoganyclosing doors ensures it works in its wooded surroundings.


homes-1/)

This perfectly simple, wood clad, absolutely horizontal 40-foot cargo container house sits

on a flat site in the Galician countryside of Spain. Its porch and removable awning allow

for outdoor enjoyment, which is ideal since it’s a summer house. It was designed by

architects Severo Fernández and Basilio Rodríguez of Estudio Base

(http://www.bdastudio.com).Navigation

http://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/#http://design-milk.com/http://www.bdastudio.com/http://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/roundup-container-homes-1/http://www.quik-build.com/index.htmhttp://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/roundup-container-homes-adam-kalkin-califon-nj/


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home-maziar-behrooz/)

Maziar Behrooz Architecture (http://www.mbarchitecture.com/) designed this 840-square-

foot art studio next to the client’s house in the summer enclave of the Hamptons on Long

Island, New York. They used two shipping containers which were painted dark charcoal

to match the main house; both blend into the surrounding woods.

Resources: Shipping Container Plans, Architects and Builders

- O! Grid Living: Shipping Container Home Designs

(http://www.o!gridworld.com/shipping-container-home-designs/)

- Shipping Container Homes (http://shippingcontainerhousedesign.com/)

- Containerhome.biz (http://containerhome.biz/)

- Shipping Container Home Plans

(http://www.residentialshippingcontainerprimer.com/Intermodal%20Shipping%20Container%20Home%20Floor%20Plan

- Cargotecture (http://www.cargotecture.com/)

- ContainerHome.info (http://www.containerhome.info/)

- Building Lab (http://buildinglab.com/) (Oakland, CA)

- Ecotechdesign (http://ecotechdesign.com/) (Los Angeles, CA)- Leger Wanaselja Architecture (http://www.lwarc.com/) (Berkeley, CA)

- LOT-EK (http://www.lot-ek.com/) (New York, NY)

Got a good shipping container builder, architect or resource? Leave it in the comments

and we’ll keep our list updated.

+ Share

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http://www.lot-ek.com/http://www.lwarc.com/http://ecotechdesign.com/http://buildinglab.com/http://www.containerhome.info/http://www.cargotecture.com/http://www.residentialshippingcontainerprimer.com/Intermodal%20Shipping%20Container%20Home%20Floor%20Planshttp://containerhome.biz/http://shippingcontainerhousedesign.com/http://www.offgridworld.com/shipping-container-home-designs/http://www.mbarchitecture.com/http://design-milk.com/12-homes-made-from-shipping-containers/roundup-container-home-maziar-behrooz/http://design-milk.com/design-your-own-clothing-with-constrvct-and-win/http://design-milk.com/edi-multifunctional-desk-lamp-by-valsecchi-1918/

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12 Homes Made From Shipping Containers - Design Milk