Using Cargo Containers for Homes

In an age where global warming is the catch phrase and green is the new black, use of cargo containers for home or office building has become a niche market that many architects and contractors are scrambling to fill. Because shipping containers are modular and stackable like building blocks they are quite easy to use in the process of building homes. The fact that cargo containers are being repurposed for this also has environmentalists labeling it as a legitimate green alternative to comparative building materials.

Using cargo containers for homes is not a new concept. The military has used the containers for bunkhouses and temporary offices for ages and there are multiple instances of home designers utilizing shipping containers for residential designs as far back as the early 80’s. Many European countries have also used them as temporary and emergency shelters in the event of a natural disaster. These factors and the impact of the environmentalist movement have created the field of container architecture and as natural resources become less abundant it will continue to grow.

From a design standpoint, the use of cargo containers for building homes is both aesthetically pleasing as well as functional. Many designers have embraced the challenge of creating beautiful homes and office spaces from cargo containers. The fact that the containers can be stacked up to twelve high and are fireproof, hurricane proof and flood proof is a very appealing aspect for the use of cargo containers for home building. The fact that these containers, as building materials, are relatively inexpensive makes them all the more attractive.

Another enticing characteristic of shipping containers is their availability. Most cargo containers shipped from Asia to the United States end up either being shipped back empty or sold. Secondarily, transport of the containers to the home-building site is relatively easy since flatbed semi-tractor trailers were designed to haul them. It’s even reasonable to assume that prefabricated cargo container homes could be designed in the factory, then shipped to and assembled at the building site at a comparatively low-cost to other home-building materials.

Structurally, the containers are incredibly durable. The container, itself, is fabricated from corrugated steel. The interior floor of the cargo containers is generally made of teak wood and many are insulated. These containers were built to withstand incredibly adverse weather on the ocean. While the shipping containers generally come in assorted colors such as red, blue, yellow or rust, you as the homeowner would have the option of painting to suit your tastes. Another positive factor in considering the use of cargo containers for homes is that they are termite resistant.

Construction of homes using cargo containers isn’t perfect, though. Containers, while they are a recyclable resource are not a sustainable resource. One of the main purposes of using cargo containers for buildings is to re-use something that often takes more expense and energy to melt down than it does to recycle as building components. Another major roadblock in the way of this eco-friendly use of material is building codes. While the steel containers are stronger than most other building materials planning departments have historically been slow to accept cargo containers as viable.

Cargo containers sit for inordinate amounts of time and take up valuable real estate at shipping ports along the coasts of the United States. It makes sense to utilize these repositories for something besides space wasters. Since it is generally more expensive to ship them back to their country of origin and even more expensive to melt them down, they sit, unused due to the fact that new containers are continually purchased from Asia. In the long run using cargo containers for homes or office buildings is an adequately green alternative for an inexpensive building material.