Shipping Containers Homes becoming an affordable Housing Option | LOTUS Containers

From living in caves, huts, clay houses, villas to skyscrapers buildings, man has traveled a long distance. But no one thought that after living by all such luxuries, man will move onto living in a metallic box- a box purposely made for the shipment of cargoes. Yes, a box that was designed 65 years ago to simplify the transportation of goods over long distances was never thought to be used for residential purposes anytime in the future. “But the human mind is all about invention and innovation.” There have been many other innovative ways to use modular shipping containers documented in the last 60 years and shipping container homes is one of those.

Since shipping container homes have been around for years, there isn’t an exact date that is marked for its invention. It was 1987 when for the first time, a visionary man Philip C Clark filed for a US patent that was a method of ‘converting one or more steel shipping containers into a habitual building’. He was the first one to see the potential of those massive sturdy rectangular boxes. The concept lies along the path of a green and healthy environment. He outlined in the points how those boxes can be utilized as a weight-bearing foundation making for ideal modular building material. Although it took two years for the patent to process and be granted to Clark, he was finally presented with approved patent #US4854094A.

Ever since that, the trend of using new and used shipping containers for building materials gained momentum. After all, they have the ability to make homes economical. In fact, there are architects and designers around the world who are getting incredibly creative with freight containers, incorporating them into impressive edifices.

 

Dropping down the list of shipping container homes and buildings that are wooing with their beautiful designs and interiors.

WFH

Located in Wuxi China, the WFH house is a prefabricated home enabling it to be transported anywhere in the world. The model was finished in 2012 and ever since it has been one of the most demanding container-built houses because of its extra added features. The house is equipped with solar cells, underground storage containers to store rainwater and also has a green roof. The house is known to be built using a 40ft high cube container. It is designed to withstand all sorts of climatic conditions, earthquakes, and local changes.

Grillah River house

The Grillah river house is located on the banks of the Grillah River in Cavan, Ireland, and is known to be the first such house built of four 40ft shipping containers to create two cantilever forms. The layout of the home is known to be designed in such a way that would give the sight of a natural view as it is a home built in the rural countryside far from city chaos and noise.

HO4+

Like WFH, HO4+ is also a prefab home that could be transported over any distance. Built from the combination of four 40ft shipping containers, it offers a two-floor building structure. The ground floor is composed of three bedrooms and one bathroom while the first floor consists of two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Besides, both the floor gives space to a large living room, dining room, and a spacious kitchen. It is located in Canon city in Colorado. The house is featured to be built anywhere due to its prefab nature.

Cross Box House

Located in Pont-Pean, in France, the Cross Box house is simple though alluring in its look. The house has three bedrooms, a large living room, two bathrooms, and one kitchen. It has a cross-like structure- the other container is kept in a tilted style on the first container. It is mostly famous for its quirky architecture: two crossing boxes cantilever over the other two. It was built keeping in mind the low-cost housing with more focus on environmental issues. In the center of the estate area, it stands as a center of attraction to people visiting Pont Pean.

Container Guesthouse

Acquiring shipping containers in Texas is immensely easy when you have suppliers like LOTUS Containers. Texas witnesses a lot of shipping boxes-built houses. One of those is the container guest house. Located in San Antonio, the container guest house is constructed with the help of local Texas architect Jim Poteet. The flooring and wall coverings feature repurposed bamboo while the foundation utilizes a bevy of recycled telephones. The roof is entirely green making it environment friendly. Its look adds a touch of luxury to the refurbished metal boxes. 

The Caterpillar House

The caterpillar house is located on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile. It is composed of 12 boxes. It was built keeping in mind the two requirements- one to build in a territory where it could offer the amazing view of the Andes Mountains and the other was to allow fresh air to move smoothly and easily through the entire house and its different parts to eliminate the need of artificial cooling. The design was chosen by the family for its quick build time on an affordable budget. The home is well ventilated from all sides where one can enjoy the natural cool mountain air like paradise.

Colorado container Home

Located in Nederland, Colorado, it is a house built on an existing rock outcropping in the Colorado wilderness. Although it is not completely built from shipping boxes, it contains a box in its center which is used as a central living space. The ground floor features lavish bedrooms, laundry rooms, bathrooms, an office, and a kitchen, and all of it adds to its luxuries enveloped inside a shipping box.

With this, we come to an end, but the list of shipping container homes does not end here. In countries like America, Australia, Spain, Germany, and China, shipping container homes are becoming a new vogue now. Every now then you will find a building constructed out of these metallic boxes. From houses, offices, stores, cafes, shops to shopping malls, their application is growing vigorously day by day.

Are you too looking to build a house? We would love to help you with the right quality containers of all dimensions.