Prefab

After an unprecedented year of earthquakes, hurricanes, and fires, a bright light has been shed on the benefits of building with concrete.

This modular system created by the architects at Resolution: 4 allows them to customize a home’s floor plan by stacking, lining up, and joining factory-built, rectangular modules.

A sliding mesh screen glides over the fireplace, which features a built-in cubby for a stockpile of wood.

The living room features glass walls that open up to the scenery, eliminating the barrier between interior and exterior.

Front Facade

The 8 used containers were sourced at the country’s busy Caribbean port of Puntarenas, then stacked together to form a 2-story home and office. “Designing with containers amplifies what I really like,” says Trejos. “In terms of versatility, good taste and modern architecture, this is how I love to design.”

When acclaimed photographer Sergio Pucci wanted to build a home and office on his 6000+ square-foot plot of land, architect Maria Jose Trejos suggested turning shipping containers into a tropical retreat. The result is Casa Incubos, completed in 2013, it’s a beautifully designed tropical home and office for Pucci and his wife, a yoga teacher.

Solar panels catch the sun's energy; wide expanses of open doors and windows provide cross-ventilation; and strategic overhangs shade against the desert's endless heat.

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.