Dad was an old school master builder and known for his quality workmanship. When his teams built a house, it was solid, square, and built to last. Before he could follow in his footsteps, the credit crunch of the 1960s hit, he closed shop and we went into agriculture, but I have always been interested in developments in the construction industry.

Traditional structures are built with either wood or steel frames, and with materials not being as plentiful as they used to be, wood structures are no longer of the quality they used to be. I still have friends who are into the construction game and one is a sheetrock repairman. One of his biggest frustrations these days is trying to hang drywall on frames that aren’t square and have warps in the joists. If the underlying structure is not square and flat, the finish may not look as good as it should. He is often delayed in his work while artificers are called in to adjust their work.

Also consider the time and use of materials in the construction of the frames, their assembly and finishing, all of which add to the cost of the structure. Also consider the traditional framing foundation, the many stumps to stabilize the concrete floor or slab. Then there’s the bug test and decay test to add to the costs.

Used shipping containers are built to carry 20-tonne payloads, across the world’s oceans, without distorting or corroding. They are built to precise measurements so they can be stacked on top of each other, loaded onto trucks, trains, and ships, and precisely locked into place so they won’t shift in transit. They are designed so that they can carry their payload of 20 tons resting only on the four corners of the container, without deforming and I repeat, they can be stacked one on top of the other. They are sealed to be weather resistant and secure to prevent burglary and theft.

Of course, they have been used for some time for storage sheds and offices on construction sites, because they can be easily relocated without damage. They are designed to be lifted and moved by cranes and forklifts. In places like Papua New Guinea, they are used as corner stores because of the security they offer as burglar- and thief-proof structures. They are built to be safe.

Mining companies have seen the benefits of using shipping containers as accommodation for their mine workers for some time, as they can be outfitted in a shop, transported to a mine, and quickly set up and inhabited.

It has recently been discussed that using shipping containers as housing could be a useful alternative to housing the poor and homeless, but the criticism has been that this will create ghettos of substandard housing, creating more problems than it would solve.

I would suggest that the humble shipping container represents the biggest revolution in the construction industry for some time. As other materials become less and less available and the problems described above persist and increase, shipping containers, which have outlived their original purpose, litter shipyards around the world. They are ready-to-use housing modules, awaiting discovery and use. They are economical building blocks, stronger and more durable than traditional materials and methods, that can be erected faster and more accurately than our current housing styles.

When placed on a solid foundation, they are cyclone/hurricane proof, would better survive earthquakes and landslides, and can be used both above and below grade.

Of course there are some limitations. Modules predominantly come in 8 foot widths and 10 or 40 foot lengths. Cutting them smaller would compromise the strength of your design. They already come at standard ceiling height for housing. However, the side walls can be opened for larger living areas, but designs must be multiples of standard shipping container dimensions. And of course they look like shipping containers, unless of course, with a little imagination, you dress them up like you would any other form of housing. And there will be some building authorities for whom these are out of their ability to perceive the benefits and approve them.

Realistically, the limitations are just our lack of imagination in using these amazing building blocks for safer, greener and more affordable shipping container homes. They have been approved as housing structures and additions by various authorities around the world and any change requires effort to achieve.

For those who can catch the vision, here is an opportunity waiting to be further explored.