Here is another great example of a resourceful builder using shipping containers as building blocks. I recently had a chance to interview the owner who’s home is in Krabi province, Thailand.

Here’s the transcript:

What made you decide to build a container home?
We (my wife & I) have a small sandwich shop called Sandwich Market located on Aonang Beach, Krabi, Thailand. When the leasing contract was over, we had to find a new place. So we decided to rent land [that we could] build our home and also a small restaurant in the same place. We ended up with a 1.5 Rai (2,400 Sq mt) lease. We spent much time talking about what, and how we were going to build the home & shop (what we called it), [and deal with] the small budget we had. We love the idea of reusing material and green roof building. So the idea of using used container came up because I remembered that 5 years ago I suggested to my friend to build a small resort with old containers, but never happened. We were very exciting about the idea which urged me to do researching and studying.

We used 4 containers. The two downstairs are for the shop, kitchen and storage, while the other two upstairs are for living.

What challenges did you face?
The most challenge I faced was how to deal with the local workers. I hired separated workers, such as concrete guys , welder, electrician, etc. To do what they’ve never done and seen before. As this was my first container home I made lot of mistake in details, such as the precision of the container dimension that relate to all construction detail.

How much did the project end up costing you?
The house itself is about 1.3 million Thai currency (US$39,000)

Did you insulate the walls and ceilings? If yes, what materials?
No, I did not. But if i did, it would be drywall (metal stud with gypsum board or cement board and heat insulation like pu foam)

Did you face adverse objections with building permits / government regulations?
Not really [since] the house is small, they just want to see that the foundation can support the house. I don’t know about elsewhere, in Bangkok might be different.

Do you have any funny stories or comments from your neighbors / family? Did they think you
were crazy to build out of containers?
Yeah, many of our neighbors are local people, most are Muslims. They passed by and not very sure what I was going do! They saw when I started putting the containers together and thought, “was this going to look good?”, “How hot was it going be?”, “How is he going to put the roof on?” The curiosity is also from my workers…they worked as I told them to do, but still question themselves all the time. But [in the end] my friends and family are really supportive. They love the idea and some of them want to build one now.

Can you tell our readers how you dealt with electrical / plumbing / heating?
Electrical work was not a problem at all. My local electrician [was very good]. There is conduit coming down from the ceiling and on the walls for switches and from under the floor for receptacles.

I [have] only one bathroom in the house. I did 7.5cm thick reinforced concrete over the container floor, with moisture barrier in between so I can put tiles on, and 15 cm high concrete rim to protect from water [intrusion]. For the walls I framed up with metal studs and cement board which can hide all the water pipes. In the shower area I put tiles on with tile adhesive.

Would you do it over again if you had to?
Yes, for sure!!

Any advice for anyone interested in building with containers?

The container home is not quite acceptable for people in Thailand even though there are more articles, discussions and exhibitions than [before]. It may be because of the old look of the container itself, or the confidence of the structural strength? Also, not many people are sure how to get it done. But I think if you want to have a small house, this is a great option. You can use two or three containers and make your own house very quick and inexpensively. Nowadays there are many great architects who can give you advice. Also, the idea of “reuse” is great [for] our planet!!

More images here

French architecture firm olgga architects has designed a student housing complex called ‘crou’ constructed from 100 recycled shipping containers. located in le havre, France the individual shipping containers are stacked on top of one another, each signifying a different student’s room.

What do you think of the concept?

This home was built in Thailand and is very simple yet effective for a variety of uses. I particularly like the roof and simple use of materials.

These guys in Hartford County, Maryland needed migrant worker housing. What a great story!

This latest container home is designed by Christopher Robertson and built by Numan Construction and is a 1,858 square-foot home with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. In addition to many green features, apparently the construction waste was able to be contained within ten contractor trash bags.

Here are some of the green features:

• FilterPave driveway using 70-80 percent post-consumer recycled glass, 20-30 percent granite, and a polymer binder in a four inch layer.
• Built with three used shipping containers
• SIPs incorporated in roof and floors
• On-demand hot water heater
• Efficient Unico AC system
• An energy recovery ventilation system
• Bamboo flooring and low-VOC paints
• Use of fiberboard products
• Energy efficient appliances
• Dual-flush toilets and efficient plumbing/fixtures

The function of this 2 x 20′ unit container home is to provide housing for low income families in remote parts of the world. With minimal foundation expense, you can mount the O2 onto leveling jacks and be up and running in a matter of days.

concept & design by Keith Dewey & Craig Arnatt

Marti’s container home is coming along nicely. Her house now has radiant tubing in place and all the structural containers and openings are done. This is great to see one’s dreams come to reality and we wish the crew all the best and continued success in completing this container home. You can track her progress here.

We just finished displaying our Zerocabin bunkhouse model at Round Up 2009.  The Mining Expo was held at the Bayshore Inn, Vancouver, wrapping up earlier tonight Jan 30th, 2009

Shipping container buildings have gained incredible popularity over the last year. And now here is another one to add to the list – the 2+ Weekend House by Jure Kotnik Arhitekt. This mini housing unit is constructed from two stacked containers, and can be shaped according to its owner’s particular needs using the ConHouse System. The difference between this prefab house and the rest of the houses we’ve seen is that this house is made from containers specifically manufactured to housing units, and not recycled shipping containers.

Shipping containers have become a popular choice for prefab construction due to their structural stability and ability to provide a quick frame for a building– not to mention the excess supply of them in shipping yards around the country. The designers using them are taking a wasted resource and upcycling them to give them a useful life as a home–which is also hopefully affordable. Putting it bluntly, the whole point of using shipping containers was to use up something that would end up wasted otherwise, not necessarily because everyone loved the look.

This design by Jure Kotnik, based in Slovenia, utilizes ConHouse container units, developed expressly for housing and office purposes. ConHouse asserts some of the typical characteristics that other prefabs claim – recyclability, adaptability, modular additions, and affordability, but do not push the envelope in sustainable design. Unfortunately, none of these features are innovative or new and the 2+ Weekend House doesn’t seem to encourage energy efficiency, renewable energy generation and there is no mention of healthy, non-toxic interiors.

Modular and affordable housing are certainly important and we look forward to seeing more attempts to create such customizable homes. The ConHouse system isn’t doing anyone favors though. They have merely capitalized on the popularity of the shipping container look, while attempting to offer more customization. Additionally, we worry for the family who has to reside in a home with garish pink polka-dots.

ecosistema urbano: Twenty-four shipping containers are retrofitted and transformed into PUMA CITY, a transportable retail and event building that is traveling around the world along with the 70-foot long Puma sailing boat – il Mostro – during the one-year long 2008 Volvo Ocean Race, just started in Alicante, Spain in early October. The building is fully dismountable and travels on a cargo ship along with the sail boats; it will be assembled and disassembled a number of times once it reaches the different international harbors.

Treehugger: Puma City is a truly experimental building that takes full advantage of the global shipping network already in place. At 11,000 square feet of space, it is the first container building of its scale to be truly mobile, designed to respond to all of the architectural challenges of a building of its kind, including international building code, dramatic climate changes, plug-in electrical and HVAC systems and ease of assembly and operations.