Affordable and Environmental Shipping Container Housing Complex

I have designed an affordable housing complex that uses shipping containers as its primary method of construction. I think that this is an interesting way of creating more affordable and environmentally sustainable housing, for shipping containers are rather inexpensive, especially compared to the cost of a roof, drywall, frame, siding/bricks, and many other costs that come with traditional housing design. It is environmental, for shipping containers are often purchased after they have been used by a shipping company, so you save trees from being removed for lumber, and you help reduce waste by taking something that might have been thrown away otherwise. I have also added trees and plants to help minimize carbon dioxide emissions, and a bike rack in the driveway to help encourage biking instead of driving a motor vehicle, and solar panels to cut down on electricity costs and further help the environment by removing reliance on electricity made with fossil fuels. In this Instructable, I will outline how I designed this.

Computer - Doesn't need to be very powerful, I designed this on a Raspberry Pi 500.

TinkerCad Account - Free!

3D Printer and Filament- Only if you want to make a model. I didn't, but I have attached the STL file in case anybody does want to.

For my affordable housing project, I searched for a suitable location in Austin, TX. I ended up deciding on 806 and 900 Willow St., for it is near downtown Austin and good barbecue and mini golf. Additionally, being pre-split into two separate lots is helpful, as I plan to design two different homes to stay on this lot.

Next, I needed to come up with an idea to ensure this can be affordable and sustainable, yet still livable. Shipping containers came to mind. If renovated, they could be used to build cheap, modular houses that still had plenty of space. I decided to design 2 of these houses, each made up of 2 shipping containers.

To design the actual house, I used Tinkercad. I got two shipping containers, and created a hole in the front of one and a hole in the side of another, so when they were connected, one could walk between the two. Then, I aligned them to the approximate right spots and grouped them. Lastly, I added 3 large windows and 2 small windows, 8 solar panels, and a front and back door. I intentionally kept the original shipping container door to make moving large furniture and appliances easier, and to allow a way for a nice breeze and view when the weather is nice.

I wanted not only the housing itself to be nice, but the yard and area around it. So, I designed a courtyard with a pond. I also added a driveway, with paths/ramps to it from the doors, and a bike lock, so that you can park cars or bikes. I also added a very small personal garden to each house, along with some trees around the pond.

An important part of this project is to analyze the cost, for the entire point of this is to be affordable. I have excluded flexible things, like location, landscaping, or interior design, from this cost analysis, along with solar panels, for they would pay for themselves within a few years. Other than that, here is the estimated cost of the construction of one house:

2x Shipping Container: ---------2,400

5x Windows: ----------------------1,500

2x Doors: -----------------------------200

Utility Installation: -----------------1800

Flooring and Floor Installation: 1900

Window Air Conditioner: ----------140

Other Labor: -----------------------3000

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Total Cost: ---------------------$10,940

In conclusion, I think that shipping containers can be an excellent way to build an affordable and environmentally friendly house. The design I just made with them costs only $10,940, which is considerably lower than the average cost to build a house. It allows us to use recycled materials, saving trees, and allows us to just use less material overall (note the absence of roof shingles). With the addition of solar panels and a bike rack, like I added to my design, the shipping container strategy quickly climbs up the ladder of environmental and affordable housing. Thank you for reading my Instructable, and I hope that you will come away from it with a notion of the potential shipping containers have to help build affordable and environmentally friendly housing!