Australian Home Design: Shipping Container House

From shipping containers to country home – two readers share how they did it.

You can listen to the podcast of Heather's interview with Patrick Sidoti here.

When Bryan and Heather Hills were planning the design of their new home, they decided to do things a little differently and based their design on re-using shipping containers as the base for their house.  

Moving from the Gold Coast to the country town of Nobby, the couple wanted their design to not only be environmentally friendly, but also fit in with the look and feel of the country.

Bryan designed and built the home, starting off with five used shipping containers that were placed into position and built upon.  The containers form the outside of the house, surrounding a large living area in the centre, and featuring a traditional-style steel roof that spans the whole house.

The result is a home is perfectly suited to the elements.

Sustainable materials

While the containers provide great natural protection from the wind their performance has been enhanced with two layers of insulation.

However, the Hills have also used plenty of other recycled materials in addition to the shipping containers. Telegraph poles and old tyres have been incorporated into the landscaping of their garden, and used doors and kitchen cupboards were also salvaged from various sources before being restored and fitted.

Challenges along the way

While a great, innovative design, the construction of Bryan and Heather’s house was by no means without its challenges. Heather suggests if others are planning to build something similar, they’ll need good building and welding skills if intending to do the work themselves. Potential builders and designers of shipping container homes should also keep in mind that there are different styles of containers out there, so investigating the differences is a must when designing. 

Designer: Bryan Hills
Builder: Bryan Hills