'There's a lot of costs that have to go into making it livable, much like if you build any house,' he says. While building a shipping container home seems like a simple project, David Fenster, AIA, LEED AP, principal and founder of MODULUS: Architecture, San Jose, Calif., says it's not as easy as just throwing up some drywall. 'But most of our projects have end up costing equal or less than with a conventional method.' 'Also, it depends on how much of the project you can perform on a workshop instead on the worksite,' he adds. Escobar-Urrutia says project costs depend on the type of project and how much modification is performed on the shipping containers. It's easy to believe that building with shipping containers will be significantly cheaper than building a traditionally constructed home, but Steele says its not always as inexpensive as people hope. With shipping containers, you're thinking in terms of volume.' 'Everything's going to be on a piece of paper and you're going to start talking about a floor plan and then develop it from there. 'If you're building a stick-built house and you're hiring an architect to design it for you, you're really starting from scratch,' he explains. Also, clients are able to visualize the building blocks as a house. Tim Steele, founder of Tim Steele Design LLC, New York City, says people are interested in building with shipping containers because along with the sustainable aspect, they are attracted to repurposing something. 'And, there's the more common need to build sustainably, with recycling the boxes as a way to help the environment.' 'It made us think about what we can do with such a sturdy steel box,' he says. Ruben Escobar-Urrutia, LEED AP BD+C, Grupo ARKHOS, El Paso, Texas, says that since the trend of building with shipping containers started, architects saw the potential of integrating the readily available byproduct as a building material. 'Some desire a new method and approach, some are design driven, some desire efficiencies in construction, while others desire sustainable building practices,' he says. SG Blocks Inc., says that while there are multiple reasons people are interested in building with shipping containers, the primary reasons revolve around form and function. Paul Galvin, chairman and CEO of New York City-based From residences to retail, shipping containers have started a new trend in the field of construction. Depending on where you are located, you may have seen an increase in construction using shipping containers. Shipping containers are being used for so much more than the transport of materials and goods across the country or oceans. Environmentally friendly steel boxes are project building blocks

Constructing shipping container homes