by Foldable homes that can be folded, transported and easily assembled are becoming increasingly popular housing options. Made from recycled shipping containers, these foldable container houses offer affordable and sustainable living spaces. Let’s take a deeper look at this emerging trend.
What are Foldable Container Houses?
Foldable container houses are modular homes constructed using recycled shipping containers. However, what sets them apart from traditional container homes is their ability to fold and unfold, making them highly portable. These houses are designed with moveable joints, hinges and linkages that allow the entire structure to fold compactly for transportation. When unpacked at the destination, the house automatically unfolds and locks into its final form.
The most common material used is Corten steel, the same durable alloy used in shipping containers. Multiple containers of varying sizes are welded together and fitted with walls, doors, windows and other fixtures to create livable living spaces. Companies are now offering a wide variety of floor plans ranging from compact 1 bedroom apartments to sprawling 4 bedroom villas, all made using between 1 to 6 steel containers.
Engineering and Design Innovations
Creating foldable structures from rigid shipping Foldable Container Houses required major engineering innovations. Companies spent years perfecting the folding mechanism designs to ensure smooth unfolding without any damage to the containers.
Some key engineering aspects include:
– Integrating overlapping hinge joints between containers for folding movement
– Designed linkages and pivot points to control folding angles
– Using gas struts, hydraulic systems or electric motors to power the folding/unfolding process
– Reinforcing containers with internal frames to maintain structural integrity during folding
– Installing protected utility lines, pipes and wirings that maneuver during folding
On the design front, architects focused on maintaining an open and spacious interior similar to a traditional house. This includes features like tall ceilings, large windows and versatile floor plans optimized for different living needs. Multiple compact housing units can also be stacked while transporting to utilize maximum space.
Green and Sustainable Benefits
Foldable container houses offer several sustainability advantages over conventional construction:
– Reuse of Shipping Containers: Used shipping containers have a second life as sustainable housing solutions, reducing landfill waste.
– Lightweight yet Durable Material: Corten steel can endure extreme weather conditions and last over 50-100 years with minimal maintenance.
– Minimal Construction Time: Foldable designs allow rapid assembly/disassembly at site in a matter of days, unlike months taken by stick-built homes.
– Lower Carbon Footprint: Nesting the housing units minimizes transport footprint. Further, steel has significantly lower carbon impact than concrete over the building’s lifetime.
– Disaster Resilient: Sturdy steel construction makes them storm-resistant and able to withstand hurricanes, flooding, etc.
– Affordable Housing Alternative: Repurposed shipping containers and efficient modular designs keep costs significantly lower than traditional homes.
All these advantages have made foldable container homes an appealing choice for off-grid and temporary housing needs across the globe.
Applications and Use Cases
Foldable Container House are being used in diverse settings based on their unique mobility and rapid deployment advantages:
Temporary housing – Deployed at construction sites, disaster relief camps, mining sites, etc. to provide workforce housing for durations ranging from weeks to years. Easily transportable between job sites.
Off-grid living – Ideal as sustainable tiny homes or cabins for remote locations lacking utilities and infrastructure. Can be seasonally assembled/disassembled as required.
Vacation rentals – Set up at scenic tourist spots and national parks during seasons, then folded up and shifted elsewhere as per demand.
Student housing – Provide additional accommodations at crowded educational institutions. Housing units can be stacked densely for maximum efficiency.
Military units – Serve as portable yet sturdy living quarters that can be rapidly configured across international peacekeeping missions.
With their versatile uses profile, foldable container homes are increasingly fulfilling diverse temporary and off-grid housing needs worldwide. Let us look at some examples.
Case Studies
Shipping Container Homes LLC (SCH) USA
One of the pioneers in foldable container home design, SCH has delivered over 1000 such portable housing projects globally since 2008. A key project saw them deploy 48 fully furnished foldable 1-bedroom shelters within 3 days at a remote mine site in Philippines. In another installation, SCH installed 12 container villas each with 3 bedrooms at a beach resort in Thailand, which can be seasonally relocated elsewhere as per requirements.
Kleuske Containers, Netherlands
Specializing in complex multi-container homes, Kleuske created elaborate 3 to 6 bedroom ‘Container Grand Villas’ that could be shipped fully assembled to any destination in their folded state. A particular project involved manufacturing a luxurious 540 sqft, 2 bedroom villa in their facility, which was then wrapped, transported via ship to Malaysia, unfolded and installed on site within a week.
*Note:
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
