Close

Shipping Containers: 10 Recycled and Repurposed Houses

shipping container house Atelier Workshop

Remember Top of the Lake (think: Twin Peaks set in New Zealand)? In Jane Campion’s compelling drama, a group of women create a camp called Paradise, made from shipping containers set on the edge of the lake. We like the idea of a shipping container as vacation getaway–it’s mobile, inexpensive, and an example of creative reuse at its finest. We’ve rounded up our favorite houses (plus a swimming pool) made with shipping containers.

San Antonio, Texas

Above: A guest house/garden retreat/playhouse made from a repurposed steel shipping container by Jim Poteet of Poteet Architects in San Antonio, Texas. For more on the project, see our Q & A with Poteet in The Architect Is In: Container as Guest House.

Airbnb in California

Shipping container airbnb by Nicolas Boullosa via Flickr

Above: At Soul Food Farm in Vacaville, California a shipping container has been transformed into a tiny Airbnb rental space. Photograph by Nicolás Boullosa via Flickr.

Pop-Up Hotel

Above: A pop-up hotel called Sleeping Around travels the globe according to demand. The hotel uses containers from a 1950s stock steel crate; once settled in a location, the rooms can be set up and fully functional within five hours.

Swimming Pool

shipping container Modpools

Above: Each Modpool starts with a steel shipping container—but becomes much more than that, with a hot tub compartment, interior bench seating, and even a viewing window so you can see what’s going on underwater. For more, see Shipping Container Chic: Recycled Swimming Pools by Modpools.

Washington State

shipping container home hybrid architecture

Above: A few years ago, a county parks department in Washington state sponsored a contest that sounded like something Amy Poehler would dream up on Parks and Rec: Transform a surplus cargo container into a permanent campground cabin. And make it cozy. See more at Little Cargo Container in the Big Woods. Photograph courtesy of Cargotecture.

New Zealand

Above: A bach (meaning vacation cabin; it’s short for “bachelor pad”) in New Zealand was designed by Atelier Workshop. The container has built-in wood paneling, a foldout terrace, and bunk beds; all that and it’s meant to be mobile. For more, see A Shipping Container Transformed into the Ultimate Holiday House.

Toronto Spa Chic

Shipping Container Castor Design Sauna Box

Above: In 2005, Toronto-based design studio Castor created a wood-burning sauna made to fit inside a shipping container. For more, see Outbuilding of the Week: Sauna Box by Castor Design Studio.

Prefab Cottages

Above: Prefab houses from MEKA (Modular, Environmental, Kinetic, Assembly) made from a steel shipping container, cedar wood paneling, double glazed argon-filled windows, a bamboo interior, and slate bathroom; four different design options range from $40K to $135K.

Northern California

Sunset Ideas House shipping container 2011

Above: In 2011 HyBrid Architecture collaborated with Sunset Magazine to install the Nomade C192–a 192-square-foot container home. Photograph courtesy of Sunset.

Toronto Welcome Hut

shipping container welcome hut Levitt Goodman Architects

Above: Evergreen Brickworks, an environmental community center in Toronto, has a welcome hut made from a repurposed 20-square-foot shipping container that architect Levitt Goodman renovated and painted bright green. He installed a rainwater chain to direct excess water into a rain barrel on the side of the hut. (Intrigued by rainwater chains? Have a look at 10 Easy Pieces: Rain Chains.)

N.B.: For more creative uses of recycled shipping containers, see 10 Shops and Restaurants Made from Shipping Containers on Remodelista.


 

You need to login or register to view and manage your bookmarks.

No more results!

Haven't found what you are looking for? Try seaching!

v5.0