The real estate market is currently suffering from high costs: land is expensive, the construction costs have increased massively since the corona crisis and the Ukrainkrieg. Housing with containers can help. This space -saving and inexpensive construction has been enjoying increasing popularity for several years, in areas such as living space for students or refugees, it has long since established itself.
Container construction: What options are there?
In containers for living, two basic forms can be distinguished:
- Converted sea containers: Building people buy a used freight container and largely convert it into a residential container on their own. Alternatively, leave the renovation of professional construction companies that specialize in this area.
- New residential containers: Some service providers produce containers especially for living. These are more expensive in the purchase, but providers specifically cut the containers to the residential purpose.
Both forms have seen a rapidly growing demand for a few years, but history goes back. A prominent example is the container city in London, which the architecture firm Nicholas Lacey and Partners had built as an office and residential project in the early 2000s.
Good reasons for housing with containers: an overview of advantages
The attractiveness of the container construction is based on several factors. The most important reason is the housing shortage in densely populated cities. In many cases, residential containers prove to be an attractive option, fast and inexpensiveTo create living space. Another reason is the trend towards individuality. Increasing more people want to realize the dream of a home even with manageable budget: containers enable this as a special form of the Tiny House.
They secure these advantages with containers to live:
- Cost efficiency: Compared to stone and prefabricated houses, reduce their costs.
- Saving time: Containers can be set up with minimal effort. If it is already redesigned residential containers, they are immediately ready for occupancy.
- Flexibility: containers can be expanded modular at any time.
- Mobility: Owners can implement individual containers with a trailer at any time.
- Sustainability: If the living container is based on a used freight container, the house has an excellent environmental balance.
Note that these individual points can vary depending on the project. For example, the costs depend on the type of container and its own contribution. Do you want to convert a used container yourself?Then check the container prices on a platformAnd the additional material costs for windows and interior design. The labor costs are eliminated thanks to their own contributions. If, on the other hand, if you buy a high-quality design container, you have to expect higher costs.
House building with containers: This enables challenges to be mastered
If you choose a container construction, you will be faced with different questions. What bureaucratic hurdles are there? How do I properly expand a used container? What acceptance does the future house in the social environment meet?
The same applies to the bureaucracy to a stone or prefabricated house. In most cases, you have to make a building application and observe the nationwide and local regulations of the building law.
When it comes to the interior of the container, you should take the provisions of the building energy law seriously. If you live in the house permanently, you need sufficient insulation, among other things. There is only an exception if you use the container in phases, for example, as a second home. Insulation, energy -efficient heating and Co. are also in your interest: Lower the energy costs permanently!
Overall, you benefit from impressive flexibility in the interior design. With corresponding materials such as vinyl floor and wooden cladding, they transform a simple freight container into a unique home.
Do not let some prejudices put you off. Some think of the dreary and inferior office and living spaces in containers- they meet this prejudice effectively with a beautiful indoor and external design!
Container construction as a success story: Examples from practice
Containers are perfect for reaching a variety of residential and usage goals. For example, there is a particularly great need for affordable apartments for students. A spectacular prestige project is the container village of Keetwonen in Amsterdam, the company Tempohousing used over 1,000 cargo containers for the extensive house project. In Germany there are residential containers for students in Berlin-Treptow, among others, the “Franky & Johnny” project comprises 420 containers.
The container construction also provides valuable services for social projects. The city of Berlin temporarily accommodates thousands of refugees in containers on Tempelhofer Feld. In Hamburg, social institutions rely on container projects on a small scale in order to give homeless people a perspective.
The opposite of social housing can also be realized with containers: so reportedtheMagazine Stern 2018 about a American couple,that has built a luxury villa with cheap used containers.
Housing construction with containers: conclusion and outlook
There is a lot to say that container construction is increasingly developing from a niche to a mass phenomenon. Whether social project or design apartments: container solutions need little space-perfect for densely populated urban rooms where free plots of land are in short supply. The increasing demand also means that more and more special companies and architects deal with this topic. The result is numerous innovations that increase living comfort and improve the environmental balance.
Are you interested in the container construction? Then in the first step you deal with the basics such as container prices and possibilities of interior design!
