The roof of this residence was made from scraps taken from the sides of the shipping containers. Its slanted design creates a wind tower effect that provides natural ventilation and negates the need for air-conditioning.

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.”

The home was built by two construction workers and the couple themselves, who were familiarized with the construction process and had backgrounds in industrial engineering. “We did not have blueprints for this design, and created only a 3-D model to guile them along the way,” Saxe says.

The containers’ sides and ends were removed to make way for large, aluminum-framed clerestory windows that provide sweeping views of the east and west.

Set slightly apart, each container is installed on pier foundations.

Spectacular views continue even in the bathroom, located at the far end of the home. “We managed to change a family’s life by shifting the paradigm of what it means to own a home,” Saxe says.

The kitchen cabinets were bought at a local hardware store. The couple changed the door handles for a more modern look. The home’s furniture was brought in from a previous residence.

Wood floors were installed throughout the entire house. Walls are formed by simple plasterboard partitions, and enhanced with industrial-grade insulation.

Located in Ojochal, Costa Rica, at the edge of a large tropical rain forest, the multi-disciplinary firm of A-01 (A Company / A Foundation) designed a prefabricated home that would respond to its local environment by exclusively using passive climate control.

Ojochal, one of a trio of villages that make up the Costa Ballena in Costa Rica, is located at the edge of a tropical rainforest. The village is known for its laid-back vibe and excellent cuisine, with a multicultural expat population.

Nestled into the trees of Santa Teresa, the Costa Rica Tree House enjoys views of the surf at nearby Playa Hermosa.

Finished in 2013, the 3,660-square-foot Casa Incubo was built from stacking and sliding four shipping containers to create a residence and gallery for photographer Sergio Pucci (who took all the photos of his new home). Set on flat ground, the two-story structure ended up being much easier for architect Maria Jose Trejos to complete than a typically constructed home, saving roughly 20 percent of the cost of a standard concrete block design.

Trejos positioned the containers about 60 centimeters above the ground floor, which gives the main gallery and workspace a bit of a sunken feel. The double-level main room offers a spacious interior, perfect for large events and easily altered so it can be utilized as a photo studio for indoor shoots.

Sliding bamboo panels on the west side of the house can be adjusted to provide shade during the later part of the day.

Trejos incorporated a variety of reused and recycled material into the project, such as shipping pallet tables, beds made from recyclyed plastic, and couches crafted in Costa Rica.

Built entirely from teak harvested on-site, this breezy solar-powered home in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, ticks all the right boxes for a pair of avid environmentalists who love surfing.

The couple stripped the original home's rusty red cladding and replaced it with cement board with a painted stucco finish. All doors were custom made by Mike and Lauren out of laurel, an affordable and beautiful tropical wood native to the mountains of Costa Rica.

The firepole is an extra amenity the client always wanted to include in his home.

The slanted roof above the garage, painted white to reflect the heat in the tropical environment, also contains a solar heating system for water. The home also features a rainwater collection system, particularly useful during the long rainy season.

The kitchen, decorated with many of Pucci's prints, features a table Trejos designed.

Trejos finished the roof with artificial grass, creating a terrace perfect for dinner parties as well as morning yoga sessions. The client's wife, a ballerina who teaches antigravity yoga, where participants are suspended from textiles, also made the suggestion to include the oversized cloth sails above the roof, a reference to her fitness routine.

During construction, Trejos and her team had to trim part of the cedar tree. They utilized the excess wood for stairs and in other parts of the home, including the bathrooms.

The stacked containers and inner courtyard, which wrap around a cedar tree, allow for plenty of natural sunlight, which helps illuminate the client's work on display in the main gallery space.

Trejos found that working with the containers was like playing with puzzle pieces. By arranging them in stacks of two and sliding the top containers, she created an interior courtyard and gallery space as well as terraces on the upper level. "Working with containers for the first time was a big challenge," she says, "but from the first draft on, it was an awesome experience. They already create space, so you just need to play with the puzzle pieces."

Costa Rica Tree House section

Costa Rica Tree House second floor

Costa Rica Tree House third floor

Early Stage, Costa Rica

Costa Rica Tree House first floor

The Beach House by NeoArchitects , Jaco, Costa Rica

The Beach Estates - Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

What Pictures Will You Capture About Your Journey To Casa La Jolla - Nosara, Costa Rica?

The Floating House floats above the jungle canopy of Costa Rica and was designed by architect Benjamin Garcia Saxe. It's a short walk to the beach and offers elegance that's rooted in nature and simplicity. The structure is made up of three pods that are connected by elevated, outdoor bridges and walkways. Teak flooring and furniture add natural warmth to the main living areas, which are connected to two upstairs bedrooms and an open-air spa bathroom via a 24-meter walkway. The home also features a lounge framed by Concertina floor-to-ceiling glass doors with expansive views of the ocean and jungle.

Architect Andres Morales designed a modern Costa Rican home. He chose to highlight the stunning mountain and ocean views with 270 degrees of two-story windows.

“Riftcut oak panels are used in woodworking and on some kitchen walls,” said Tremblay. The design of the cabinets is by Tremblay’s firm, Boom Town, with fabrication by Atelier Boisteck. Stools by Arteriors are lined in front of a granite countertop from Costa Esmeralda.

The first loft by celebrated Costa Rican architecture studio Alianz is an awe-inspiring, seemingly gravity defying form that rises up from a neatly manicured lawn just 20 minutes from San Jose airport in Costa Rica. The glass-clad cantilevered form, with a steeply angled butterfly-style roof, shelters an outdoor deck and hot tub surrounded by a lushly landscaped garden.