Editor’s note: This article was first published in January 2012. The prices, around €50,000 for an average home and €120,000 for four joined containers, are what the entrepreneurs quoted on a TV programme at the time.
Despite the bursting of the property bubble, some entrepreneurs spotted a new business opportunity in the housing sector. The other night I was watching a TV programme about former construction workers and industry professionals who had come up with the business idea of buying steel shipping containers and turning them into fully equipped, adapted homes that are also environmentally responsible and can even include clean energy.
Containers offer many design possibilities, and in some countries small buildings have even been put up by joining containers together. Combining two containers gives you a 60 m² home you can live in. And these containers aren’t only for housing: they can also be used as offices.
At first you might think that living in a container would be rather “shabby”, but these entrepreneurs have managed not only to change that image but to turn them into affordable luxury. All you need is a plot of land to put the container on. In fact, the other side of the business is renting or selling residential plots for prefabricated homes of this kind, with a communal pool and all kinds of services.
According to these entrepreneurs, the average home would cost around €50,000, although they had already received orders to join up to four containers for €120,000. Buyers are happy with them, and if at some point they buy another plot somewhere else, they only need to dismantle the home and move it to its new location.
Featured image: Angel Schatz, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
