By SUSAN GALLEYMORE

A trend in recycling structures not traditionally considered “real estate” is changing how potential home and business owners, not-for-profit organizations, government agencies and the U.S. military view shipping containers.

The use of rudimentary containers to ship cargo began in the late 17th century. By the 1950s, Malcolm McLean of Sea-Land Shipping, pushed by the U.S. military to standardize their design, was building strong, uniform, theft-resistant, stackable shipping containers that were easy to load and unload by truck, rail and ship, and easy to store.

In 2005, an estimated 18 million containers made a combined total of about 200 million trips. Many containers measure 20 feet or 40 feet in length, and a 40-foot-long shipping container offers 304 square feet of floor space.

A trade imbalance has led the containers piling up around U.S. hubs, and storing them increases the cost of doing business.

One response to the problem: Re-engineer the containers. As architects and designers around the world evolve and refine creative reuse, containers are reshaping as disaster-relief shelters,coffee shops, student housing, custom homes, retail towers, even storing physical books after they are digitized.

Alex Klein and Heather Levin highlight container home designs in their book, “Introduction to Container Homes and Buildings.” The container home shown here is disguised by a more traditional home design. Photo courtesy of Alex Klein, Container Home Consultants Inc.

The U.S. military, for example, has deployed “Containerized Housing Units,” or CHUs (pronounced “SHOOS”): Army and private military contracting companies use the converted shipping containers to house troops, contractors and others.

A soldier from company D, 1-12 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, exits a CHU at Forward Operating Base Warhorse in Baqubah, Iraq. Photo courtesy of Army Spc. Ryan Stroud, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, public affairs.

The units offer hard floors, windows, air conditioners, beds for up to three people, and some are outfitted with refrigerators.

According to the U.S. Army Environmental Command, the first multistory commercial structure built of recycled steel containers on a U.S. Army base opened in Fort Bragg, N.C., in April 2008.

Twelve containers, each measuring 9 feet 6 inches in height, 8 feet wide, 40 feet long and made of 14-gauge steel, form the two-story, 4,322-square-foot 249th Engineers company Operations Building that houses two company detachments.

This multistory building at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, which incorporates shipping containers, cost an estimated $750,000. Photo by Christine Luciano. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Environmental Command.

Living in former shipping containers may have begun as a fringe novelty, but it is far from such these days. Many entrepreneurs are exploring new niches amid the growing assortment of shipping container-based structures.

Alex Klein of Container Home Consultants Inc. has been involved in shipping container conversions for 30 years, while Heather Levin said she appreciates container homes after noticing how much of her hard-earned dollars went to a bank as mortgage loan interest.

Victor Wallace of ContainerHomes.info authored the free downloadable book, “The 30 Most Influential Shipping Container Homes Ever Built!” His website presents extensive tutorials and videos for container conversions and also offers a free download of the book with designs from around the world.

21st Century Homes & Structures builds modular homes and claims it is the “original approved shipping container home manufacturer in New York … certified since 1985.”

That company reports that its modified shipping containers are “eco-friendly, (energy-efficient), hurricane-resistant, pest-free, affordable and green.” The company offers units in sizes ranging from 480 square feet to 1,280 feet, and prices starting at $89 per square foot. That does not include excavation site work and foundations. The company offers turnkey packages and ships throughout the U.S.

An Argentinian-born woman living in California identified by faircompanies.com as “Lulu” (no last name given), was reportedly forced by the recession to downsize, and found and modified a free shipping container. She took a couple of months to gather mostly recycled components to remodel the unit, faircompanies.com reported, and it took another month to convert the original 360-square-foot space into a home for herself and her small daughter.

With hot water on demand from a small camping device, and camping stoves for cooking, Lulu noted that her home features a separate bathroom and second bedroom, and she plans to add a teahouse and a greenhouse.

See a video of Lulu in her container home:

 

One New Jersey-based company, Sea Box Inc., offers a 1,000-square-foot, three-bedroom home — the Modular Systems Housing Unit — built from shipping containers. The structure also features a living-dining room, kitchen, bathroom and storage.

Sea Box Inc. offers a three-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot home — the Modular Systems Housing Unit — built from shipping containers. Photo/Sea Box Inc.

Exterior view of the Sea Box Inc. Modular Systems Housing Unit. Photo/Sea Box Inc.

“For multifamily housing, we can deliver and erect a four-story, 16-unit apartment building, fully furnished and move-in ready, in three days,” according to Robert A. Farber, director of contracts and counsel for Sea Box.

“All of these living quarters will last more than a hundred years, are impervious to pest infestation (termites can’t bite through steel), and can withstand hurricane-force winds that would destroy conventional housing,” he also said in an email message, adding that the company bid for a job to potentially supply tens of thousands of housing units built from shipping containers to New York City in the event of a major natural disaster.

The company offers a range of designs, he said, “including offices, laundry facilities, machine shops, personnel shelters, and even a giant movie screen: 90 feet high.”

Sea Box structures have also been used by the U.S. military in Iraq, Afghanistan and other nations, he said, and “We’ve sold two-story container configurations, which individually house 2,000 computer servers used to power the search engine Bing.”

The interior of a container home in Houston, Texas. The home was designed by architect Christopher Robertson and Numen Development. Flickr/joguldi

A two-story container home in New Jersey, designed by architect Adam Kalkin and completed in 2008. Photo courtesy of Architecture and Hygiene.

Exterior of New Jersey container home designed by architect Adam Kalkin. Photo courtesy of Architecture and Hygiene.

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Stacked shipping container housing in England. Flickr/plentyofants

Container home in Oregon. Flickr/davidburn

Container house in France designed by CG Architects and completed in 2010. Photo courtesy of CG Architects, France.

This container home, Cove Park in Peaton Hill, Scotland, was designed by Urban Space Management and completed in 2002. Photo courtesy of Container City.

Designers from a Clemson University architecture program develop affordable housing solutions for the Caribbean region. This complex in Haiti provides short-term emergency housing. Photo courtesy of Clemson University.

 

Container homes in Canberra, Australia. Flickr/leighblackall

Soaring 85 feet high, Freitag Shop in Zurich, Switzerland, is both the world’s tallest building made from shipping containers and that city’s tallest building. The eco-conscious structure is built from 17 shipping containers. Photo: Roland Tännler, Courtesy of Freitag.

Staff writer Carol Hazard contributed to this report.

Goodbye to the armoire and the dining room (in many cases, the living room, too). Hello to the home office.

Repurposed rooms, recycled materials and an increasingly relaxed decorating style characterize the end of a decade that began as a party on a grand scale.

These are among the home décor trends cited by experts as the 2000s drew to a close.

In the past 10 years, the formal living room in most homes has been reinvented — it’s now a library, workspace, perhaps a music or game room. Many are now willing to buy a new home without a living room at all, according to a survey this spring by the American Institute of Architects. What we want is some combination of kitchen and great room where the family can interact. Homes are more laid-back and user-friendly.

The most well-liked rooms now are the home office, mud room and media room, the survey indicated. What we don’t want so much anymore? Three-car garages, guest rooms and formal living rooms.

While the economic downturn has caused people to scale back their dream-home wish lists, “households are using their homes as intensely as ever,” AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker noted in the group’s newsletter this fall.

Technology has continued to transform the home. At a recent housing industry conference, Steven Bomberger of Delaware-based Benchmark Homes said, “Ten years ago, baby boomers didn’t know how to program their VCR. Now they want computers, structured wiring, programmable thermostats and security systems.”

We’re also getting comfortable with terms like low-VOC paint, sustainable flooring, home energy management and wireless telecommunication.

Some trends in the past 10 years:

McMansions

At the start of the 2000s, many jumped on the real estate thrill ride. McMansions, gobblers of space andenergy dollars, became ubiquitous. Now, we’re rethinking how we live, says Jennifer Boles, founder of The Peak of Chic design blog and contributing editor to House Beautiful.

“Some homes had five or six rooms dedicated to living and relaxing, despite the fact that most of us really only spend time in two or three,” she says.

Oversize furniture like sectionals and big coffee tables, popular at the start of the decade, are being scaled down.

However, one oversize space remains popular. “Spa baths have staying power,” says Tampa, Fla.-basedkitchen and bath designer Jamie Goldberg. “They tie into several current trends: creating comfortable environments for aging, bringing back the luxuries of travel and spending more time in our homes.”

Homegoods’ Philip Tracey adds, “The spa bathroom is the new two-car garage — a must-have if you ever want to sell your home.”

Living al fresco

“The outdoor room’s really been one of the biggest changes. Everyone has an outdoor space now, even if it’s tiny,” says Elle Decor’s Cheminne Taylor-Smith. “With seating, dining, even kitchens and sleeping pieces, these rooms are treated like their indoor counterparts.”

Firepits, weather-resistant fabrics and furniture, and commercial quality heaters extend the outdoor season.

Green living

After a long fallow period, gardening took off in the past few years. From containers to victory gardens, we’ve got our hands back in the dirt. We’re concerned about the provenance of produce, and about our carbon footprint — how many thousands of miles did that tomato travel? Renewed interest in environmental stewardship starts literally in the backyard. We’re digging up the lawn and planting native greenery that requires little maintenance or water. We’re putting down less pesticide. More of us are composting.

Indoors, notes Boles, “being green moved from the fringe into mainstream design.” We started demandingpaint and other home products that were enviro-friendly. Sustainably harvested wood became a selling feature. Many designers embraced the trend, giving us beautiful art and furniture made of recycled materials. Now your kitchen counter may have once been a truckload of soda bottles, your sheets may be bamboo, and solar panels can power everything from hot water heaters to patio lighting.

Creative living

We’re spending about $260 billion a year on home-improvement projects, according to the Housing Industry Research Council. That’s up about $90 billion from 2000. Empowered by informative blogs, magazines and TV shows, the DIY boom continues.

We’re turning linen closets into offices, embellishing IKEA stock furniture, and repurposing what we already own in clever, practical ways. Designing on a dime, or close to it, has become a hobby.

With more creative freedom now to express our personalities at home, the world became our inspirational marketplace. Global crafts found a wider audience. Mainstream stores like Target and Pottery Barn brought decorative pieces from every corner of the planet to our doorstep, and design became more eclectic than ever before.

The relaxing life

We’ve loosened up. It’s OK to have the computer and TV in the heart of the home. There’s been a shift toward a more practical, casual lifestyle over the past decade.

As designer Mark Hampton says, “Real comfort, visual and physical, is vital to every room.”

Suites of furniture? Passé. Untouchable formal rooms? Over. We’re comfortable mixing and matching — a major shift from the’80s and’90s, when people mostly picked one style for the whole home.

Other hallmarks of the decade include: stainless steel appliances, granite counters, mid-century modern furniture, media furniture, Wi-Fi, home theaters, organics, Scandinavian design, Craftsman style, ottomans, wallpaper, cherry cabinetry, low-profile home-entertainment systems (flat screens, mini speakers, integrated components — many of them standing free, released from the 1990s media armoire), less-is-more window treatments, high pigment one-coat paints.