Ireland Built Its First Shipping Home Container In 3 Days To House The Homeless

Credit: JetsonGreen.com
Credit: JetsonGreen.com


When initiative and collaboration combine, anything is possible. 

In Ireland, a shipping container home was donated to the St. Vincent de Paul charity and will soon be used as a sanctuary to house the homeless.

Designed by the Architectural firm Ceardean Architects, the project was built by a 60-person team of contractors and craftsman and was finished in a period of just 3 short days. 

Derek Treneman, a designer with the firm, commented that one of the main aims of the project was to serve as a “prototype” for communities looking for new and affordable ways of easing the housing crisis. 

Credit: JetsonGreen.com
Credit: JetsonGreen.com

Credit: JetsonGreen.com
Credit: JetsonGreen.com

According to the website JetsenGreen:

“They will be releasing the plans to encourage other such DIY projects, and Trenaman hopes that it will bring a community’s plumbers, welders, plasterers, and others together to build more such homes, working in a reciprocal way.”

The shelter was built using a single 40-foot by 10-foot shipping container, with a 9-foot 6-inch ceiling.

Credit: JetsonGreen.com
Credit: JetsonGreen.com

A living room and fully functional kitchen takes up about half of the cargo home. Adjacent is the bedroom, near the bathroom with a shower. This home is spacious enough for a bunk bed and a wardrobe, and also offers a blissful deck to relax on.

In addition, the shipping container home was fitted with a 30-foot (9-meter) window which allows in plenty of natural daylight. The structure is able to house six people, but would no doubt be more comfortable for a single family

 

As you can see from the photos, three days of work definitely transformed it into a humble abode almost anyone would be happy to call ‘home’.

Credit: JetsonGreen.com
Credit: JetsonGreen.com

The home cost about $61,000 (€50,000) to be constructed. The architects are certain that the cost could be reduced, however, and might easily be brought down to $31,000-$37,000 (€25,000- €30,000).

It’s no hemp house, but it definitely meets and exceeds all standards. The home is equipped with various state of the art technologies, including micro heat recovery units, back boilers, and hot water heating. It’s also equipped with a solar panel array, which could potentially take care of all of its energy needs if the tenants are conservative. Of course, implementing more affordable technologies would also reduce its cost.

Credit: JetsonGreen.com
Credit: JetsonGreen.com

After the shipping home container was completed, it spent some time on exhibit at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA); it was later moved to Deerpark in Co Cork and gifted to a family just in time for Christmas.

Perhaps the project will inspire others to repurpose old shipping containers into affordable homes and/or offer aid to ease the homelessness crisis. 

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