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Christchurch shopping mall shipping containers in 2014 © Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com Shipping Container Housing
For emergency or disaster housing
For permanent housing, offices, retail space, NZ Re-Start shopping mall

  • POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about shipping container housing designs, uses, where to buy shipping containers for conversion to a house, how to convert a shipping container to housing, shipping container house inspection & maintenance

Shipping container & similar pre-fab housing: this article describes the use of shipping containers & similar structures as a base for design & provision of emergency or disaster housing, temporary structures, or even permanent homes that can be transported, erected, even stacked on-site where housing is needed in both urban and more remote areas.

We include examples of container based housing designs and we list the factors that should be considered in both cost analysis for container based housing and in project set-up & maintenance.

We provide sources for renting or buying shipping containers new or used for housing or storage or office projects, and we list expert resources, books & documents on container housing architecture & design.

Page top photo: after loss of many buildings due to earthquake damage in Christchurch, New Zealand, builders made extensive use of shipping containers for housing and, as we show above, even for the construction of shopping malls and restaurants.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

- Daniel Friedman, Publisher/Editor/Author - See WHO ARE WE?

Guide to Shipping Container Housing Designs, Uses, Sources, Inspection & Maintenance

Re-Start shopping mall in New Zealand, built of shipping containers (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.comFollowing Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and further-developing a disaster housing plan that New York City has been working on since 2007, FEMA and New York City officials began plans for a project to test disaster housing units, including designs such as using shipping containers that could be stackable to provide higher density housing in urban areas where otherwise space may be limited.

The city will construct a prototype disaster housing set-up testing stacked or multi-story units on a parking lot near the Brooklyn Bridge. [1]

But the most-extensive use of shipping containers as housing, retail space, and office space that we have inspected is found throughout New Zealand's South Island, as we illustrate in some of the photos given here.

Article Contents

Examples of Shipping Container & Similar Modular Housing Designs

Shippping container office - Wikipedia 2012

This office built using a shipping container is an example provided by Wikipedia.

Standard shipping container sizes vary by country, age, and intended use.

Construction material is usually steel (typically COR-ten steel) though there are also (more expensive) aluminum shipping containers.

Generally in the U.S. shipping containers are available in these dimensions:

Synonyms for shipping container in shipping use include ISO container, Cargon Container, Conex Box.

When used for occupancy or storage, these containers are referred to as Intermodal Steel Building Unit (ISBU) or a GreenCube.[9]

Container-based Disaster Housing Conversion, Transportation & Installation Costs & Considerations

 Flotel in Sallaberry de Valleyfield, near Montreal, Quebec (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Photos above & below show the "Flotel" in Sallaberry de Valleyfield, near Montreal, Quebec, photographed by the author in June 2024, a creative use of (what sure looks like) shipping containers to build a floating hotel.

OPINION: we found online ads for this hotel at around $200 to $400 CDN per night which seemed expensive for what, on direct inspection looked cramped and in our view, a bit scruffy accomodations.

 Flotel in Sallaberry de Valleyfield, near Montreal, Quebec (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

But indeed, in nice weather it might be fun to jump out of your hotel room right into Lake Saint-Louis!

 Flotel in Sallaberry de Valleyfield, near Montreal, Quebec (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

A number of factors combine to determine the suitability of converted shipping containers as temporary disaster housing or for longer term applications, including:

Tanks & Other Round Structures as a Base for Experimental Design Housing - the Bottle House

Bottle container as home, New York City river walk (C) Daniel Friedman

Our photo of a bottle structure as home (left), Private Passage, a sculpture by Malcolm Cochran, illustrates the wide range of experiment and creativity that has attracted architects and other designers to the adaptation of containers, especially shipping containers, but even a wine bottle as ready-made structures that can be converted into a home.

Properly titled Private Passage, this bottle house was the first permanent public sculpture commissioned as part of Hudson River Park.

The bottle house or Private Passage is on display in Clinton Cove, along what is popularly referred to as the NYC RIver Walk .

Private Passage is a 30 ' x 8’6” diameter wine bottle resting on its side.

The interior along with the portholes form an interpretation of a stateroom derived from photographs of the Queen Mary.

This artwork, not intended as a habitable structure, was created with support from the New York City Percent for Art program administered through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

All stainless container house interior, River Walk Brooklyn NY (C) Daniel Friedman

This all stainless interior gives a glimpse into an all stainless steel design concept used in a container home on display on the River Walk, NY City.

All stainless container house interior, River Walk Brooklyn NY (C) Daniel Friedman

As you will probably agree, this end view of the all-stainless bottle house shows a concept a bit more narrow in width than the more generous 12' x 40' shipping container structure widely used for this approach to emergency, temporary, or even permanent housing.

Interior of the all stainless steel bottle container home (C) Daniel Friedman

And unlike the rectangular-modular shape of shipping containers, round tank-containers won't accept stacking for taller structures in more crowded areas.

Christchurch shopping mall shipping containers in 2014 © Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Above and below: shipping containers form the Re-Start shopping mall in Christchurch NZ in 2014.

Christchurch shopping mall shipping containers in 2014 © Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Below: makeshift office space in Hamner Springs New Zealand in 2014

Office space using shipping containers, Hamner Springs New Zealand (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Below, the yellow truck is carrying a shipping container being delivered to a housing project near Lake Takapo in New Zealand, and

Shipping container being delivered for housing use in New Zealand (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Shipping Containers as Emergency Structural Support or Retaining Walls

Shipping container retaining wall, Sumner New Zealdn in 2014 (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Shipping containers were also put to use as massive retaining walls or as temporary bracing to prevent the collapse of earthquake damaged buildings - shown above in Sumner, New Zealand, and below in Christchurch.

Shipping containers used to prevent building collapse, Christ Church NZ (C) Daniel Friedman

Sources & Resources for Shipping Container & Similar Modular Housing

Watch out: when buying a used shipping container; because a shipping container may have been used to transport illegal drugs or other chemicals or substances that could be harmful it makes sense to have the unit interior inspected, if appropriate, tested, and cleaned before taking further step to convert its use from shipping to a home, office, remote cabin or other structure.

Standards, Codes & Research: Shipping Containers & Containerized Housing

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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

How to convert a 16' x 24' pre-built shed into a tiny house.

I want to convert a 16x24 pre-built shed into a tiny house. It seems like building codes for manufactured homes are easier than codes and zoning restrictions for single family houses.

I want to put it on land without an existing house so it can't be considered an ADU. If I had the dealer put it on a permanent chassis could I get it considered by HUD as a manufactured home?

What was the process like to convert a shipping container to a manufactured home? Do you think it would be similar to converting a shed to a manufactured home? - On 2020-09-10 by Taylor S

On 2020-09-10 by danjoefriedman (mod)

Taylor it's not likely that a simple pre-built shed will as-is meet HUD specifications as a manufactured home.

What are the US code building requirements to transfer a shipping container into a living container?

What are the US code building requirements to transfer a shipping container into a living container?

Is there a certificate I can get, that the containers are build to code? Would this be Nation wide accepted?

Who will do then pre-inspections and inspections during the manufacturing process?
(I have read about:

-PART 3280—MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS

-IRC INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL CODE FOR ONE AND TWO FAMILY DWELLINGS

-HUD Inspection Agencies: List of IPIAs and DAPIA's)

Am I on the right track or is there anything else out there? - On 2019-09-16 by Ralph Heise

Moderator reply:

Thanks for the question: in fact after extensive review of New Zealand's use of shipping containers as commercial space and for storage following earthquake damage, I've just recently been reviewing procedures and regulations for converting shipping containers to homes.

The following common remark authored by HUD and repeated on several shipping container sales websites best sums up the situation:

All manufactured homes are built to the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, 24 CFR Part 3280. Manufactured homes are transported in one or more sections on a permanent chassis and display a red certification label on the exterior of each transportable section.

Shipping containers that are converted into housing units are subject to state and local building codes like modular and site-built homes.

Converted shipping containers cannot be accepted as a HUD-code manufactured home unless they are provided with a permanent chassis and are transported to the site on their own running gear and otherwise comply with all HUD Standards and Regulations for manufactured homes.

Source: U.S. HUD, "Manufactured Housing and Standards - Frequently Asked Questions" U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street S.W., Washington, DC 20410 Telephone: (202) 708-1112 retrieved 2019/11/17 original source: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/rmra/mhs/faqs

This Q&A were posted originally at MOBILE HOME CODES & STANDARDS

Looking for builder who can construct a container home using up to 5 TEUs ,

Looking for builder who can construct a container home using up to 5 TEUs , north of Durham, but still in NC. Potentially 2 years out. Looking also for site, and assist with site acquisition, building codes and permits, cost recommendation and past experience with container home construction. An email response is requested: karenc930@gmail.com On 2016-11-19 by Karen Chin -

Reply by (mod) - Looking for builder who can construct a container home using up to 5 TEUs , north of Durham

OK Karen, perhaps some of our container-home builder-readers in North Carolina will reply.

You might also contact

Mountain Housing Opportunities,
64 Clingman Avenue, Suite 101 Asheville, NC 28801
Email: info@mtnhousing.org
Phone: 828.254.4030
Fax: 828.254.0120
Website: http://www.mtnhousing.org/

Also try nearby Raleigh container home builders like

Batchelor Edmund Scott
9328 Hometown Dr,
Raleigh NC 27615

Robert J Goldstein & Associates Inc
1221 Corporation Pkwy,
Raleigh NC 27610

and in Container builders in Hillsbrough NC
Mike Dodson Construction
3210 Old Chapel Hill Hillsborough Rd,
Hillsborough NC 27278

Stonewall Custom Homes, Inc.
202 W Queen St,
Hillsborough NC 27278


Question: prefab housing for the homeless?

I would like to buy prefab housing to use to accommodate homeless people in my country. i am however not sure about how to maintain these houses in the long run - (Mar 8, 2012) Tjibuya Daman said:

Reply:

Tjibuya: regarding pre-fab housing maintenance, the requirements will depend on just what you mean by pre-fab. There is significant variation in materials, construction, even site delivery and assembly among types of manufactured housing.

Search InspectAPedia for DEFINITIONS of MOBILE HOME, DOUBLEWIDE, MODULAR, PANELIZED CONSTRUCTION to sort these out and then let me know which you are referring to - or describe to me in your own words what you mean by prefab housing and we'll discuss further just what special maintenance concerns may be important.

If by maintenance you refer to building maintenance (as opposed to keeping such a program going) key is choosing materials and construction types that work in the climate and environment involved and that will require little or no building maintenance.

A second maintenance topic that may require more money and energy is the provision of potable water, sanitary toilets, other utilities.

Certainly there is a wide range of options such as

  • purchasing container housing - low cost, often quick to obtain
  • making use of existing buildings, converting them as needed
  • other forms of new construction; for example in Guanjauato, Mexico, the a casita program has been building small concrete block housing for people living in the campo and who previously had only minimal shelter.

But before launching any new program one would want to be guided by people living in the community about housing preferences & needs, land space, legal requiremetns, etc.


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Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

  • [1] Winnie Hu, "City Will Test a Disaster Housing Prototype Both Innovative and Inside the Box", The New York Times, 11/25/2012, original source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/nyregion/new- york-city-plans-disaster -housing-project.html?emc=eta1&_r=0
  •  
  • [2] Wikipedia Web: https://www.wikipedia.org/ provided background information about some topics discussed at this website provided this citation is also found in the same article along with a " retrieved on" date. NOTE: because Wikipedia entries are fluid and can be amended in real time, we cite the retrieval date of Wikipedia citations and we do not assert that the information found there is necessarily authoritative.
    • "Containerization" retrieved 11/25/2012, original source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Containerizatio
  •  
  • [3] Adam Kalkin, Quik Build: Adam Kalkin's ABC of Container Architecture Bibliotheque McLean (October 2008),ISBN-10: 0955886805, ISBN-13: 978-0955886805
  •  
  • [4] Hope Lewis, "Human Rights and Natural Disaster, the Indian Ocean Tsunami", Human Rights, Fall 2006, p. 12
  •  
  • [5] James Hamilton, "Architecture for Modular Data Centers", arXiv:cs/0612110 [cs.DB] [http://arxiv.org/abs/cs/0612110], Quoting:
    Several factors are driving high-scale deployments of large data centers built upon commodity components. These commodity clusters are far cheaper than mainframe systems of the past but they bring serious heat and power density issues. Also the high failure rate of the individual components drives significant administrative costs. This proposal outlines an architecture for data center design based upon 20'x8'x8' modules that substantially changes how these systems are acquired, administered, and then later recycled.
  •  
  • [6]Pernille Christensen, Elaine Worzala, "Teaching Sustainability: Applying Studio Pedagogy to Develop an Alternative Post-Hurricane Housing Solution Using Surplus Shipping Containers", The Journal of Sustainable Real Estate, American Real Estate Society, ISSN 1949-8276 (Print), Volume 2, Number 1 / 2010 PP 335-360 Abstract
    This paper illustrates the use of studio teaching as a technique for promoting an interdisciplinary approach to teaching students about sustainability. It emphasizes an iterative decision-making process to help students think 'outside the box' when exploring sustainable solutions. The paper focuses on a particular case adopted by a combined studio of architecture and landscape architecture students to help provide sustainable housing solutions for post-hurricane victims. The studio format provides a student-centered learning environment where students, faculty, and industry professionals work together to propose alternative post-disaster housing and community restoration strategies. The students gained a heightened understanding of the need to address global challenges in an interdisciplinary manner, which is key for solving sustainability problems.
  •  
  • [7] Timothy Lukas Petrash, "What is Preventing the Practical Development of Shipping Containers as Mobile Dwelling Units in the U.S.?", Housing & Urbanization, Harvard University, retrieved 11/25/2012, original source: http://www.lukaspetrash.com/Public/Downloads/Papers/430% 20Whats%20Preventing%20Shipping%20 Container%20Homes%20%28no%20images%29.pdf
  •  
  • [8] The Sea Box, supplier of ISO Shipping Containers, SEA BOX, Inc. Corporate Office, 1 SEA BOX Drive, East Riverton, NJ 08077-1910, Tel: 856.303.1101 | Fax: 856.303.1501 E-mail: sales@seabox.com, Website: http://www.seabox.com/
    The company provides containerized housing units in 20 & 40 ft. lenghts and designed for a variety of uses other than materials shipping, such as workshops, storage locations, power generating systems, offices, sleeping quarters, interim housing, camps, for commercial, private, & military applications.
  •  
  • [9] Brandt, Kathryn Ann, M.S., "Plugging In: Reinterpreting the Traditional Housing Archetype Within a Community Using Shipping Containers", A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Greensboro 2011 (2011) Directed by Robert Charest. 105 pp., [Copy on file as Brandt_uncg_0154M_10849.pdf]
  •  
  • [10] Phillip C. Clark, Patent, 1987, described the method for conversion of a shipping container to a habitable building.
  •  
  • [11] Urban Space Management, Container City, Trinity Buoy Wharf, London Borough of Tower of Hamlets, 2001
  •  
  • [12] Peter DeMaria, two story container home designed, 2006
  •  
  • [13] The eCORRE Complex, APHIDoIDEA Architects
  •  
  • [14] Hall, E.T. (1976), Beyond Culture, Doubleday, New York
  •  
  • [15] Paul Sawyers, Intermodal Shipping Container Small Steel Buildings, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; Second Edition edition (2008), ISBN-10: 1438240325, ISBN-13: 978-1438240329 Amazon:
    Intermodal Shipping Container Small Steel Buildings explains how to purchase steel cargo containers and modify them for use as buildings under 1000 sq ft in size. Learn how you can save up to 40% over tradition lumber and factory made steel structures with these unique building blocks. New and used steel shipping containers are available nationwide. It's easy to buy containers and modify them for use as workshops, garages, cabins, guest houses, super carports, RV - 5th wheel covers, and much more (the book shows how). Enjoy a building that's up to fifty times stronger than most structures, built quick and with amazingly little labor. Take part in the shipping container building revolution with the worlds first book on the subject...Intermodal Shipping Container Small Steel Buildings! Includes photos, diagrams, plans, and charts. 116 pages, soft cover.
  •  
  • [16] Paul Sawyers, Expanded Discussion: of the Method for Converting Shipping Containers into a Habitable Steel Building, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (2011), ISBN-10: 1463532113, ISBN-13: 978-1463532116
  •  
  • [17] Slawick, H., Bermann, J., Tinney, S., Container Atlas: A Practical Guide to Container Architecture, Berlin, Die Gestalten Verlag (2010), ASIN: B003ZZQWZE
  •  
  • [18] Peggi Clouston, Stephen Schreiber, Ray Kinoshita Mann,Without a Hitch - New Directions in Prefabricated Architecture, lulu.com (2009), ISBN-10: 0557080754, ISBN-13: 978-0557080755,
  •  
  • [19] Ryan E. Smith, Prefab Architecture: A Guide to Modular Design and Construction, Wiley; 1 edition (2010), ISBN-10: 0470275618, ISBN-13: 978-0470275610
  •  
  • [20] Alison Arieff, Prefab, Gibbs Smith; (2002), ISBN-10: 1586851322, ISBN-13: 978-1586851323
  •  
  • [21] Albert Ferre,Total Housing: Alternatives to Urban Sprawl, Actar (2010), ISBN-10: 849654088X ISBN-13: 978-8496540880
  •  
  • [22] Marc Levinson, The Box, How the Shipping Container Made the World, Princeton University Press (2008), ISBN-10: 0691136408, ISBN-13: 978-0691136400
  •  
  • [23] Liana Grey, Shipping Containers Launch a New Wave in Housing Design, HTML, 5 page article from Real Estate Weekly, Hagedorn Publication (May 14, 2011)
  • Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. Contact Mark Cramer at: 727-595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com 11/06
  • In addition to citations & references found in this article, see the research citations given at the end of the related articles found at our suggested

    CONTINUE READING or RECOMMENDED ARTICLES.


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