If you have plans to live in a Tiny House, you probably think of a wooden construction, possibly on a trailer. But there are alternatives. Be inspired by the specialists at Marcontainer and Juxta.
Marcontainer
In the summer of 2018, Marco Haakman introduced his first habitable Marcontainer: ‘We found it a challenge to give a shipping container a second life as a Tiny House. The container is made of Corten steel, so you can enjoy it for a long time. The recesses are reinforced with steel if necessary.’
Marco uses containers that are no longer used as transport containers: ‘We like to insulate the containers and convert them into luxurious Tiny Houses. In this way we give them a second life. We ensure that a product is reused at the end of its lifespan and does not become a waste product.’ Building with containers has other sustainable advantages: You have fewer transport movements during construction, which means you emit less nitrogen and the construction time on location is short. The Marcontainer can also be easily dismantled and moved after installation.’
The installations and the finish and choice of materials, inside and outside, can be discussed as desired: ‘We build with sustainable materials and, if possible, with recycled material. Think, for example, of window frames, interior doors and wooden elements.’
It is also possible to view the Marcontainer. You can take a look at Demopark Almere on the demo days: ‘You can also make an appointment with us at the company location. Here is a model of 20 m2 and a model of 26.5 m2, which can easily be expanded with half a unit to 40 m2.’
Photo credits: Marcontainer b.v.
Juxta
Erick Arends of Juxta is
enthusiastic about the rise of the container as a basis for a home: ‘Because many containers are produced, they are relatively cheap. Moreover, you immediately have a strong and load-bearing chassis, which means that no foundation is usually required.’ And there are more reasons to consider a container: ‘You can link the containers well. This creates a larger living space. They are weather resistant and very dimensionally stable. There is also a wide range of containers in various sizes. This in turn benefits the price, because elements can be standardized and the construction time can be very short.”
The choice of layout, finish and installations are discussed with the customer in advance: ‘We do have a standard layout, but it can be adjusted as desired. The exterior finish is also possible with different materials, such as: wood, aluminum and other sheet material or simply with paint.’
Erick likes to emphasize the durability of the containers: ‘The all-steel construction makes a container almost indestructible. Due to the long lifespan, they can often be reused several times. In addition, the shape of a container is straight on all sides. The container is therefore very suitable for installing installations on the roof, such as solar panels and solar water heaters.’ The containers are built in Latvia. There is no model in the Netherlands yet.
Photo credits: Inboxlifestyle
History of the container
A container (or shipping container) is a standardized metal box for the transport of loose goods. By using standard dimensions, the container can be transported by road, water or rail without having to load or unload the goods yourself.
The container as a transport unit was invented in the 1930s by Malcom McLean. However, it took until 1955 before containers were really used. Then they were introduced to the White Pass & Yukon Route, which had built the first container ship, the Clifford J. Rogers. The containers were used to easily transfer goods from trains to ships.
In 1966 the first container was unloaded in the port of Rotterdam. It was unloaded from SS Fairland, the first ship in a liner service between New York and Rotterdam, owned by the mother of all container shipping companies, Sea-Land Service, founded by Malcom McLean. In order to be able to make the necessary facilities, a number of Rotterdam shippers founded the Europe Container Terminals (ECT) in 1966.
A total of more than 130 million containers are shipped across the world’s oceans each year. Together good for four trillion (4,000,000,000,000,000,000,000!) in goods.
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