Collection by Elaine Albrich
Off-grid inspiration
Repurposed shipping containers serve as the primary materials for the houses and working spaces designed by ShelterKraft. The company's designs focus primarily on disaster relief projects, drawing from existing steel frames and skins in order to reduce the use of new materials. Their buildings range from small cargo cottages of 160-square-feet to 700-square-foot warehouses for industrial facilities. Athough they come with electric power, heat and plumbing, they generally require a pre-existing concrete foundation and a local contractor to ensure a smooth, safe installation.
Mina House www.mimahousing.com/mim...
Erin Moore of FLOAT Architectural Research and Design, based in Tucson, Arizona, designed a 70-square-foot writer’s retreat in Wren, Oregon, for her mother, Kathleen Dean Moore, a nature writer and professor of philosophy at nearby Oregon State University. The elder Moore wanted a small studio in which to work and observe the delicate wetland ecosystem on the banks of the Marys River. Enlisting her daughter’s design expertise, her professor husband’s carpentry savoir faire, the aid of friends, and a front loader, Kathleen and her crew erected the structure in September 2007. Photo by Gary Tarleton. Totally off the grid—–Kathleen forgoes the computer and writes by hand when there—–the Watershed was designed to tread as lightly on the fragile ecosystem as the wild turkeys and Western pond turtles that live nearby. “
The recycled shipping containers were sourced from the Pacific Port of Caldera in Costa Rica. “Discarded shipping containers are all over the world and cost relatively little,” Saxe says. “With a bit of creativity and understanding of local building techniques, the interiors can be modified for any client.”
Little Box on the Prairie is a 700-square-foot house made from two recycled shipping containers. It’s situated on 10-acres of rolling prairie, just north of Livingston Montana, and blends rustic coziness with clean, modern design. Many of the finishes, such as the redwood flooring and plywood wall panels, were salvaged off-site, recycled, and reused. The outside deck is perfect for chatting over morning coffee, enjoying an evening glass of wine, or gazing at the Absaroka Mountains while deer or antelope pass by. The house comfortably sleeps two, and a third can sleep on the sofa if needed.