Shipping Containers: A Possible Housing Option?

22 February 2006
MUMBAI, INDIA

Humble shipping containers have now become a housing option in many countries. Over a hundred million containers move across the world today, produced by industries across the globe to transport materials. However, after goods have been transported, the containers become a potential source of waste and pollution as they are not wanted. Environmental activists as well as those interested in low-cost housing solutions have converted these potential garbage additions into houses, shelters and even entire neighborhoods.

For a country like Romania, where flats cost a minimum of $20,000, living in a 40-foot shipping container would only cost $1,500-2,000. In addition, the houses can be moved around, giving the owner a significant commuting advantage. The tsunami-hit South Asian coasts might consider this option, which will allow people to save their houses and move to safer locations when an area becomes environmentally dangerous to live in. Most of the people affected by the tsunami were poor fishermen who can anyway not afford housing in safe central city areas. Thus, mobile low-cost houses would simultaneously address the complex housing predicament they face daily, having to choose between safety and increasing shelter costs. In addition, the containers are also fire resistant.

The big question is whether shipping containers can be transformed and adapted to proper living conditions, with water supply, heating, gas, insulation and comfort. Prospective owners can either build the house themselves, or acquire it from a container housing company. While such companies have not been successful in India, building a house oneself may be an option for enterprising workers looking to cut costs. After transporting the container to the desired site (preferably with the help of cranes provided by the company one bought the container from), a foundation must be built, to prevent against the corrosive effects of moisture. Doors and windows must be cut, and the containers must be insulated properly, as they are made of steel, which is a good thermal conductivity material.

Aside from low-cost housing, people with a higher income may be interested in some very stylish residences that people like interior designer Albert Hadley and architect Adam Kalkin are creating. Adam Kalkin showed off his luxury dwelling, called the "Push-Button House" at the Art Basel Miami Beach art show in December 2005 surprised everyone with lavish furnishings and a beautifully designed interior inside a shipping container. Another architect Jennifer Seigal has pointed out that shipping containers can be to the individual needs of the buyer and are modern looking.

Kalkin's Quik House sells for between 150 to 175 thousand dollars. Plans are also on to build an A-Pod, similar to a studio apartment, that will cost under $100,000. With real estate prices spiraling all the time in the U.S., Flatpak's Lazor, who lives in Minneapolis, and architect Michelle Kaufmann, who's based in San Francisco, went on to design their first prefab from personally motivated reasons. Says Lazor, "This came out of my utter frustration with insanely inefficient and insanely expensive houses." Kaufmann adds, "Prefab is for people who are busy but have a good design sense. They want to live in a clean, green space they can afford, both in terms of time and money."

However, not all prefab initiatives have taken off, with prices often exceeding expected costs. An elegant, ecologically sensitive lakefront spec house, priced at $979,000 has so far found no takers. In India,
while prefab technology has been limited to units such as project site offices, cold storages, exhibition halls, portable cabins, kiosks, workshops and warehouses, there is considerable consensus among experts that it could be extended to a wider scale, to address India's homelessness problem in both urban and rural contexts. Some are even considering prefab skyscrapers.