The idea of living in an 8 by 20 foot steel box is enough to
get you a few raised eyebrows and ‘are you mad?’ comments. But what if that box
was spacious, homely, fully transportable, cheap, fire and flood proof, fully functional
and designed to your own taste whilst keeping your ecological footprint to a
minimum? If that sounds a bit better than maybe you are in the market for the
latest green home, a converted shipping container.
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| http://ecovidainternational.com/eco-design-and-construction/ can-you-build-with-shipping-containers-in-spain/ |
Taking reuse to a new level there has been an upsurge in
the use of old, disused containers in to modern, quickly assembled and
environmentally friendly homes throughout the globe. It has been estimated that
there are up to 24 million containers that will never be used to transport cargo
again and not only do these make great temporary homes for those in crisis
(they were used as emergency accommodation for people after the 1988 earthquake
in Armenia) they also make excellent contemporary office and living space
(there’s even one down the road from me being used as stables!). One important
aspect is that they are cheap to acquire in the first place. A quick scan of
buyandsell.ie shows some for sale for as little as €1,600 + VAT.
The fact that these homes are making use of a discarded material
already makes them smart ecologically but many of them have incorporated
features to make them that bit more sustainable. Some containers sport solar
panels angled on the roof and others have small wind turbines and energy
efficient windows. Another eco-friendly aspect it that it takes very little
time for the setup of these homes which facilitates less disturbance to nature
and also that they are transportable meaning they are not permanent in that
area. Timber is also not required in the way that it usually is for many other
house builds. One company has designed an ‘ecopod’ container to show just how
sustainable you can make them. The ‘ecopod’ has recycled flooring, a solar
powered fridge, a compostable toilet, wall sockets and 12v lighting that is powered
by the roof mounted solar panel.
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| http://www.designtopnews.com/architecture-design/greentainer-eco-fied- container-architecture/ |
If you think you need to compromise on the design aspect of
the house in order to gain all these benefits think again. The containers can
be piled high on top of one another, or fused together creating a manipulated
masterpiece. They can be changed past the point of recognition or left in their
original state bringing an urban renewal feel to the place there are also ones
designed to disappear in to the natural background. The architectural
possibilities are endless once you remember to think outside the box (a steel
one in this case!).
Have
a look at the links below if you want to see some globally inspiring uses of containers from
skate parks to student housing: http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/shipping-container-homes-460309#slide-1
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