This Tiny House Is Different
Pros and Cons of Shipping Container Housing
We’ve got a love/hate relationship with shipping container construction here at Treehugger, and while repurposing surplus shipping containers in their original form into storage, shelter, or commerce can be a great use of an existing resource, and an appropriate construction method for use in certain climates, it’s not the best choice of materials for other situations. After all, shipping containers are just big metal boxes with no openings for light or access except for huge doors on one end. And although the steel construction renders them rugged, they offer no insulation from heat or cold whatsoever, so a lot of work has to be done to make shipping containers truly livable year-round. This pre-fab tiny home from MODS, however, misses out on the eco-benefit of using an existing resource, because the company starts with brand new (“or lightly used”) containers, and does some major modifications to them to turn them into homes.
Features of the MODS Tiny Home
The unit looks like a decent option for a turnkey tiny home as a backyard granny cottage or office space if the $33,500 price tag doesn’t throw you, but at the end of the day, it’s still just a long narrow box with windows added to it and not much character. Granted, a MODS unit comes with a side benefit, as the company says they “act as a basic Faraday cage, routing lightning strikes to ground and keeping you safe in a storm.” However, compared to the wide variety of creative tiny house and pre-fab designs we’ve shown here over the years, the MODS International unit doesn’t seem to offer much in the way of style, but the company does take special orders and can build to spec.
You can also check out photos of a MODS home made from 8 shipping containers as seen on HGTV (below), and details on their emergency shelter and temporary structure options.
Originally published on October 18, 2017
