Building Green With Shipping Containers

Here’s to a 1980’s patented idea just recently grown into a widespread phenomenon. It seems to be a new concept, this shipping container home building. However, the patent was actually granted on August 8, 1989. Philip C.Clark was on to something then; shipping container architecture for homes, offices and buildings which would reduce cost and allow more efficiency and flexibility.

Several websites in our realm, such as The Daily Green and Treehugger, are spitting out positive feedback for shipping container houses. In all reality, shipping container houses deserve the front page as they undertake the problems of today’s economic crisis, not to mention covering environmental issues. In the United States alone a large number of homeowners watch helplessly as their homes fall into foreclosure.

Shipping container houses offer all citizens the possibility of nice housing for a smaller budget. The reason for this is that they are made of steel and come in wide availability. Some names of different shipping container houses to look into are Port-a-Bach Shipping Container Holiday, All Terrain Cabins, Futureshack, Push Button house and simple cottages. Additional types of homes built from these recycled containers are beachside palaces, vacation locations, family homes and more.

The point of shipping container houses remains recycling and the use of renewable energy to also cut costs. All parts of the container are used. Container doors are even transformed into a support system for beds. Other shipping container houses have installed solar panels which act as the source of energy for the house. Beautiful photos of various shipping container homes have been captured to show how modern and ‘a la mode’ they stand. Simply type in “shipping container homes” in any search engine’s image section to find some of the best.

Going back into time, after the shipping container become patented, the idea was first put into real practice during the 1991 Gulf War as transportation of Iraq prisoners of war. Ventilation was created by cutting holes in the containers. From this method, no ill effects were reported. Shipping container ‘houses’ continued to be put to use for military shelters until, finally, livable shipping container homes became available.

There are over 300 million shipping containers sitting empty at ports around the world. Green architecture is the way to go. When strong, durable, movable, cuttable, modular and stackable products are so accessible and abundant, they need to be placed in the sales basket.

Recycled containers provide interesting solutions to emergency housing demands and when stacked skyscraper style they lego into serviceable dormitory complexes. Every day life always involves housing of some sort for all family members. In these tough times, one should consider shipping container houses for their low-cost and eco-friendly status.