Cargotecture

image via weburbanist

Could I live in a shipping container? Sure! If it looked anything like these beautiful converted studios and living spaces.
Quite an interesting idea. And it's one that seems to have grown legs in recent years what with a shortage of affordable housing and society's desire to salvage and recycle building materials, either to be more green or simply to fulfill a need for safe shelter. It doesn't hurt that our ports are full of abandoned containers looking for a new home. Many importers choose to abandon them because it's cheaper to buy new ones than to have them sent back, meaning there are plenty used ones for sale. They can be great solutions to temporary housing, having been used as student dorms, hurricane shelters and disaster recovery efforts.
I'm a fan of the more permanent re-imagining of the cargo container. It's a twist on the mobile home that has architects designing new ways to integrate these stackable, durable and inexpensive shells into beautiful office and residential spaces.

One man has been chronicling his adventures in container redesign here.

This one, featured recently in Dwell, is one of my favorites.


image via dwell