The journey from box to house

That still leaves the problem of the containers' size, Strauss says. Their length (20, 25, or 40 feet) and height (9-1/2 feet) work fine, but their standard 8-foot width is too narrow.

By removing their metal sides, however, individual containers can be conjoined to make much larger and livable spaces - 16, 24, or 32 feet wide or wider.

A number of graduate students are looking at the possibilities of transforming shipping containers into housing, as are a growing number of private and nonprofit developers, including one involved in military housing.

Another company is exploring the possibility of creating container-home villages in empty warehouses that would provide temporary shelter for the homeless. It also envisions vacation modules, which would be furnished by the owners.

Strauss, who talks enthusiastically of joining containers together to make modular homes, has heard from a number of interested parties. "It's amazing how this concept has struck a chord with the public," he observes.

Strauss's firm, Fox & Fowle Architects, has been in contact with a Colorado couple, the Pearsons, who want to use shipping containers to build a single-family home at a ski area. Initially they plan to use it as a weekend residence,

Andrea Pearson says she and her husband, who currently live in a historic Denver bungalow, envisioned building a cabin in the mountains. That changed when they read about Strauss's ideas and became intrigued.

"The more we thought about the realities of living at 9,800 feet with extreme weather conditions, the more this idea made sense," she says.

Given the wonderful views from their property, the Pearsons would like to do what Strauss proposed for the 18-acre Gloucester site, namely, remove the sheathing to create windows on both the front and back.

Another consideration is whether a shipping container would be an eyesore on a scenic landscape.

Tucked below the tree line on a 35-acre property, it really won't be that visible, Mrs. Pearson says. Plus, she trusts that a suitable exterior can be designed and that environmentally conscious neighbors would support their efforts.

In urban settings or as emergency housing, the containers' appearance may not matter as much. As with modern mobile or manufactured homes, shipping containers could be dressed up, but Strauss finds their industrial appearance pleasing. "It's a colorful, active, very playful aesthetic," he observes.

The interior of the containers can have conventional stud walls and be made to look virtually no different from any other home. And with insulation and a heating system added, these units would be no less comfortable than any well-built glass and steel structure.

The key to success, though, is to begin with boxes and then think outside the box.

Page: 1 | 2