If you drive near a port and see businesses shipping their goods, you’re sure to see piles of shipping containers. Although imports and exports are responsible for much of the usage of these containers, there is a growing trend of offering used shipping containers for sale. According to Small Business Coach, while many buyers purchase these containers for storage, a growing number of companies will transform these containers into container homes.
According to Field Mag, a container home is a residence constructed from shipping containers. Container experts describe these homes as durable, functional and attractive living spaces. According to Container Home Hub, a 20 foot container home is one of the most common sizes, while some companies offer a 40 foot home.
Although many people who buy homes made from a container plan to capitalize on its economical structure and sustainable materials, some construction companies have upscaled the concept of container homes. For example, some construction designers offer 3 bedroom shipping container homes. According to Inhabitat, the famous Boucher-Grygier home in California is an example of a 3 bedroom container home that belies its utilitarian beginnings to serve as a showcase for what a container home can aspire to be.
Shipping containers were originally designed for transporting goods. Once they finished doing that, what do we do with them? Increasingly, the answer is to build. An industrial shipping container is strong, durable, stands up to the abuse of the elements, can be made mobile, is endlessly versatile. Here are some of the most amazing container building solutions anywhere in the world.
The Boucher Grygier House
Located in California, this home has three bedrooms and all the amenities. It’s 251 m² and was constructed out of three refrigerated shipping containers. Two of the containers are used to provide the kitchen and master bedroom, while the third container has been cut in half and stacked in order to provide the other rooms.
Redondo Beach House
While we’re in California, we shouldn’t forget the Redondo Beach house. This two-story home of 278 m² is built out of eight shipping containers. This particular home features four bathrooms, four bedrooms, and a shipping container pool that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.
Audi Scoreboard
Located in Brooklyn, this giant scoreboard, built by Audi, provided scoring for the 2014 World Cup. It was made from 45 shipping containers and 28 Audi cars.
Trump Tower, Istanbul
Modular shipping containers are all over the top of Trump Tower in Istanbul. This world-class office building used 25 container units in order to build a modern Turkish bazaar on the terrace of Trump Tower.
Freitag Shop
Located in Zürich, this is the tallest building ever built out of shipping containers. It is 26 m high and is owned by the Freitag Messenger Bag Company. It provides a store display for the company, storage for the business, and rooftop viewing for visitors. It took 17 shipping containers to build it.
Nakagin Capsule Tower
Built from 140 shipping containers stacked at angles, this tower provides housing for traveling businessmen. Each separate container can be changed out whenever necessary, so, in theory, it will last forever.
Puma City
Puma City is a transportable and enormous Puma brand store. It’s three stories tall and 11,000 ft.² It has two outdoor decks, a bar, and a lounge. It’s made from 24 conex containers and can be taken down and reassembled wherever Puma wants to go.
Google Campus
The Google campus in London has been built around the idea of open plan workspaces. They used seven stories worth of shipping containers to create a design that promotes co-working events .
The Box Office
Distill Studio started designing and building the Box Office back in 2009. This office block uses 32 shipping containers to provide 12 offices, from offices as small as 640 ft.² to the biggest at 2560 ft.²
Royal Wolf Head Office
Located in Australia, this is the main office complex of a company that sells shipping containers. Finished in 2013, the offices use both 20-foot shipping containers and 40-foot ones. While the inside has been redone to provide excellent office space, the outsides have been left untouched so it’s clear what these boxes used to be.
MVP Offices
In Santa Ana, California, the Marketing Via Postal Group found themselves with an enormous warehouse and a desire to put in offices within that warehouse. They did not want to go the route of the traditional cubicle and were intrigued by the shipping container office. They used 10 of them to build nine offices, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The cost of the containers and outfitting them was only $4000, and they currently save about $3000 a month on energy costs.
Whitney Studio
In New York, the Whitney Museum wanted to build a new art studio for the purpose of showcasing very special exhibitions. Building a whole new structure of traditional materials was too expensive, so they used six shipping containers to build a cube space for highlighting certain exhibitions and holding educational programs. Located in South Korea, the Open School sits along the side of a river and overlooks a pedestrian walkway. This shipping container structure is a place to play, a public amphitheater, an exhibition space, and an assembly room. These are just a few of the things people have built out of shipping containers. Whether you’re looking for a module home, a pop-up restaurant, or a solution for a warehouse office, shipping containers are an eco-friendly, wallet-friendly, and durable solution.
