Cool idea for building...check it out.

A friend was over the other day and we got talking about about used shipping cargo containers.

Most often, the container arrives at its destination and is of no further use. Although many businesses use them as storage, there is another great use for them and it's building homes. The benefits are wonderful and innovative and the idea is being introduced around the country.

Excerpt from Carol Lloyd, SFGate.com article-

"In this era of scouring the earth for the magic bullet in home building, few ideas can compete with the weird, pragmatic beauty of the used shipping container. Cheap, strong and easily transportable by boat, truck or train, these big steel structures now litter the ports of America as mementos of our Asian-trade imbalance. (Many more full containers arrive on our shores than depart, so ports either ship them back empty -- to the tune of about $900 per -- or sell them.)

Hurricane proof, flood proof, fire proof, these metal Lego blocks are tough enough to be stacked 12-high empty -- and thus can be used in smaller multistory buildings. Used containers (which can be picked up for $1,500 to $2,000) often have teak floors and sometimes are insulated. The bright orange, blue and rust corrugated boxes may not appeal to everyone. But contemporary hipsters find them not just the ultimate in postmodern appropriation but aesthetically pleasing as well.

And even though containers have little of the crunchy nostalgia of the hay-bale house or the yurt, they trump most other forms of green building because, in the current economy, they are virtually a waste product. Making a building (which can last and last) out of what is essentially a huge piece of industrial detritus takes recycling to a new level."

Check these out-

What a cool way to recycle the old and give back something new, especially with the need for affordable housing is so many parts of the nation. To see all of the cool interior and exterior ideas, be sure to follow the links.

You can get more information at http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/01/shipping_contai.php and also http://www.shipping-container-housing.com/.