These days, it seems as though shipping containers are being used more frequently for architecture than they are for actual shipping.

There are several reasons why shipping container housing has grown in popularity. The houses are cost-effective, they reuse existing materials which make them ‘eco-friendly’, and they’re very speedy to build.

But some architects say the trendy metal boxes have major flaws and are not worth the hype.

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Manager at Nova Deko Homes Brisbane, Ted Crowe, says client interest in shipping containers has increased enormously, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is talking about them in a positive way.

“Some love them and some love to hate them” he says.

So, what are the pros and cons of shipping container architecture? Domain decided to find out.

Are they really green?

Shipping container designs are often touted as being ‘green’ because they reuse old containers. But CEO of Australian manufacturer Container Build Group Jamie van Tongeren says his company only uses brand new containers, for one important reason.

“It’s definitely unsafe to use the old ones, they’re really the unknown. I wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole.”

Used shipping containers can have high levels of chemical residue – they are coated in lead-based paint to withstand ocean spray. Containers’ structural integrity can also be compromised if they are dented, van Tongeren says.

Debunking the green myth further, Archdaily writes that the average container eventually produces nearly a thousand pounds of hazardous waste before it can be used as a structure.

Are they a suitable building material?

Apparently “everything” is wrong with shipping containers, if you listen to Mark Hogan, principal architect of New York firm Openscope Studios.

Blogging under the name Markasaurus, Hogan argues that shipping containers are unsuitable for large-scale housing projects, not least because of the difficulty in fitting them with heating and cooling systems.

Where projects use multiple containers, extensive steel reinforcement is required, particularly when cuts have to be made into the metal, and this exercise can be very expensive.

Unlike large-scale projects, the benefit of small shipping container homes is that they can be built extremely quickly and precisely in a factory.

Jamie van Togeren says a small home can take just three weeks to fabricate in a factory.

Even so, Hogan says, “If you are going through the trouble of building in factory, why not build to a dimension that is appropriate for human habitation?”

What about the cost?

The general consensus is that shipping container homes are cheaper to build than conventional housing.

Ted Crowe says that that really depends on the situation, but shipping containers reduce costs dramatically in areas where it’s difficult to erect regular housing, such as sloping blocks of land.

Elaine Petitgout​ from Boxman Studios in North Carolina doesn’t agree. “Shipping container homes are rarely more cost-effective, comfortable, or more attractive than conventional homes,” she says. Instead, the advantage is the way a container’s shape allows for creativity and flexibility in design.

Petitgout says shipping containers are ideal for industrial office spaces, hospitality suites, trade show booths, and pop-up retail stores.

The debate rages on, with the online architecture community seemingly divided by shipping containers. But one thing’s for sure, the trend hasn’t run its course just yet.