Architecture

Repurposing Shipping Containers As Homes: Why This Is Now A “Thing”

Container Office in Poland. Photo by MOs810. License: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Container office in Poland by MOs810. License: CC BY-SA 3.0.

Shipping containers are big metal objects that get used to transport physical objects. Many of the products that we use in our daily lives will no doubt have got transported across many oceans in them. When shipping containers get taken out of service, they often get scrapped.

But, one ingenious way to save them from the scrap heap is by repurposing them into homes! Believe it or not, shipping containers make ideal homes for people. So, why are more people moving into these metal boxes? And why is repurposing shipping containers into homes now a “thing”?

They are cheap to convert

Perhaps the biggest selling point is their low cost. More of us are struggling to buy a home. Especially given the growing prices on the property market. In comparison, a repurposed shipping container is only a small fraction of the cost.

They are brilliant for city centers

If you wish to live in the middle of a bustling city center, you’ll often struggle to find a suitable home. And it’s even more of a challenge to find an affordable one! One of the many benefits of shipping containers is they can get stacked. Check out the Wenckehof container village in Amsterdam as an example.

You can adapt a shipping container

Fancy a sprawling home? If so, you could always use two or more shipping containers and adapt them for your needs!

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Paul Tomaszewski is a science & tech writer as well as a programmer and entrepreneur. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of CosmoBC. He has a degree in computer science from John Abbott College, a bachelor's degree in technology from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and completed some business and economics classes at Concordia University in Montreal. While in college he was the vice-president of the Astronomy Club. In his spare time he is an amateur astronomer and enjoys reading or watching science-fiction. You can follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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