Container Living

This concept first did the rounds a couple of years ago but now the SF Gate reports on the use of cargo containers as homes. One type called Quik Houses costs $160,000 and uses five shipping containers and are built as a two-story, 2,000-square-foot home with skylights and “enormous” glass windows, equipped with three bedrooms and two baths, a stainless-steel kitchen and mahogany doors.

Hurricane proof, flood proof, fire proof, these metal Lego blocks are tough enough to be stacked 12-high empty — and thus can be used in smaller multistory buildings. Used containers (which can be picked up for $1,500 to $2,000) often have teak floors and sometimes are insulated. The bright orange, blue and rust corrugated boxes may not appeal to everyone. But contemporary hipsters find them not just the ultimate in postmodern appropriation but aesthetically pleasing as well.

Quik Houses
Innovative architects turn used shipping containers into homes