Transforming shipping containers into habitable spaces is a growingly popular subset of prefab. Just off the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, Martha Moseley and Bill Mathesius adapted an unused concrete foundation to create a home made from 11 stacked shipping containers. "We were inspired by the site, and our desire to have something cool and different," says Moseley.
Exterior walls are clad in an sealed, unpainted western red cedar to mirror the colors of the site’s tawny meadows. As the wood ages naturally, it appears as though it emerged organically from the earth.
At night, subtle light fixtures provide soft ambient light. The lights “as discrete as possible, and aimed at the surfaces of the house, defining space and creating the kind of three dimensional modeling that is easy for the eye to interpret,” Snyder says. “It is relaxing, calming, provides plenty of light to live, and as much as possible eliminates visible bright hot spots or illuminated fixtures that call attention to themselves.”