By Cat DiStasio

Cargotecture is a growing trend in modern architecture that has more to do with repurposing than it does with starting from scratch -- and yet the results are no less spectacular than traditional construction projects. Recycled shipping containers can be used alone for a tiny, efficient homes, or linked together for more spacious structures. Around the world, architects and designers are reinventing the cost-efficient "bones" of steel shipping containers into amazing reflective art installations, self-contained produce farms and even pop-up hotel rooms that can be moved for a change of scenery. With their low cost and resilient nature, these container buildings are a creative response to a variety of architecture challenges, and each one is cooler than the next.