James Howard Kunstler is not a fan of suburbia. In fact, he pretty much considers it the tragedy of modern society.
He wrote his book, The Geography of Nowhere, “Because I believe a lot of people share my feelings about the tragic landscape of highway strips, parking lots, housing tracts, mega-malls, junked cities, and ravaged countryside that makes up the everyday environment where most Americans live and work.” He continues the discussion in Home from Nowhere: Remaking Our Everyday World for the 21st Century.
Below is an entertaining video presentation by Kunstler covering some of what he finds distasteful in modern civic design.
Additional information on Kunstler and his books can be found on his website.
Each Friday Coming Unmoored runs a weekly roundup of tiny homes featured on the web and recent news stories that may be of interest to small home enthusiasts.
This week, in particular, has been a bumper-crop of news stories. Make sure to check out some of the ones below!
Ecopods are modular tiny homes that aim to be eco-friendly. They are “off the grid” and are made from recycled materials, giving them a very small environmental footprint and impact. A modular home that is made out of recycled materials? This should get the attention of all tiny home fans.
Ecopods are taking the concept of turning a shipping container into a home and really running with it. What they have done is take the already super-tough shipping container, and made it tougher. They’ve accomplished this by making it weather resistant. Usage of a shipping container is part of how the ecopod is recycled and eco-friendly, but there is more to come from the ecopod in terms of being eco-friendly. For example, the floors are recycled rubber from car tires.
The Ecopods are designed to be highly energy efficient meaning that they can be taken off the grid. The ecopod has a bunch of solar powered options, including a solar-powered refrigerator and roof-mounted solar panels. They are designed to use a 80 watt solar panel, which should eliminate the need to run power lines. This, of course, means saving some money as well.
So what does the ecopod look like? A standard ecopod, they do custom work as well, is a 8′x20′ steel shipping container that has been heavily modified. Ecopod’s team is particularly found of using steel as a building material. Steel not only has a sturdy nature, but it is “infinitely recyclable.” Steel has always been valuable scrap that makes its way back into the recycling system.
Many people may not get excited when thinking about interior walls, but ecopod is incorporating some really interesting technology for their interior walls. Magnesiacore technology uses magnesium oxide compounds and natural silicates to create a non-conbustible and versatile building material. In fact, the ecopod team believes that Magneisacore is superior to “gypsum, cement, clay, wood and paper particles.” Magnesium oxide is very commonly found in nature, and Magnesiacore has been given a thumbs up by LEED for all uses. No wonder ecopod is excited about it.
The view out my front window is never the same. Yesterday morning was particularly interesting, however. I looked up my front window to see a house sitting in the river that hadn’t been there before.
Apparently one of the local architects had just finished building a new home that was intended for a slip in the marina. Randy from Ducks Marine was in the process of tucking it into its new slip space.
Turning one of the corners in the marina and tucking it between two other houses proved to be a real challenge. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get it on film because I needed to jump on a conference call for work. However, the finally thing I heard as I was walking away was Randy saying, “I’ll be right back. I need to go get my chainsaw.”
When I went back out a few hours later to pick up Tammy (from RowdyKittens) at the airport the new home was sitting peacefully in its slip space like it had always been there.
Lest you think I’m making up the story of the frequently-appearing Pomeranian in a life vest, I’ve attached footage of one of the row-bys below. She quite frequently floats by in a kayak, as well.
One of her owners corrected me about the fact that she’s actually a Long-Haired Chihuahua rather than a Pomeranian. She’s apparently quite sensitive about the distinction. So please consider this my editorial correction.
First, I just have to say, wow. I can’t believe the number of thoughtful comments I received last week as part of the contest I posted for the copy of Jay Shafer’s Small House Book. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to respond! You gave me some fantastic feedback which I plan to incorporate in the upcoming weeks.
Based on the random number generator I used, Mary will be receiving the copy of the book. For those of you who won’t be receiving it, please don’t be too discouraged. I have a feeling I’ll be doing something similar monthly, so keep your eyes out for future giveaways.
And keep those comments coming! They are really helpful in terms of determining how I can better structure content on my site to meet your needs as readers.
So while I wasn’t able to make the small home get-togethers in either San Diego or Sebastapol that happened a few months back, the small home movement seems to have decided to come to me.
Tammy from RowdyKittens.com and Amanda from Greenaerie are both going to be in Portland this week. Tammy is actually intrepid enough to be willing to crash with me at the floating home for a night. (I’ve warned her it’s pretty much going to be like camping except with slightly better facilities and most likely more sawdust.)
Tammy and I are currently trying to coordinate a get-together with Amanda. I also know she wants to get some photos of my little floating home.
So don’t be too surprised if pictures and video footage of various degrees of silliness show up in the next week or so. (I’m sure Rumi will get in on the act with at least Tammy. He can smell a cat lover a mile off.)
It should also be a good opportunity for the three of us to meet face to face and discuss a couple of ideas we’ve been kicking around informally.
It is with the utmost excitement that I share this idea with you. And, the idea is constructing a home using old steel shipping containers.
Now, before you throw your mouse at the screen in disgust because those steel crates are just too ugly to even think about being used as a house, just take a look for a moment at what’s possible and then we’ll talk…
Pretty amazing, right? All of those images are from ContainerCity.com, which is the website for Urban Space Management, a group of builders in London who are building entire communities, schools, and farmer’s markets using old freight containers.
They’re funky, green, amazingly affordable, and comfortable. If you want to see more images (all of which will knock your socks off) they have a really amazing portfolio of past projects on their website. Again, which you can find here.
There’s also this really amazing clip from Modern Marvels that you can watch. It’s all about Container City, how the builders did it, and how much it costs to live there (you’ll be amazed at how cheap it is.)
Can You Really Live In A Shipping Container?
Well, I’m new to this myself. When I originally discovered micro home living, I stumbled across a few people who had transformed shipping containers into homes, but I was so enthralled with the modernist designs of the pre-fab mini homes that I gave the freight homes a blind eye. My mistake.
I stumbled across them again over the weekend, and this time it was a Eureka! moment. I mean, the idea of living in an recycled freight container is just brilliant. It’s still a mini home because they’re not that big, and they’re way, WAY cheaper than the weeHouse or miniHome designs I was looking at (which were going to set me back at least $150,000, not including the land. Ouch!)
How much are shipping containers?
Well, after digging around online this weekend, it seems as if the average is $1,500 to $3,000 each. And, that’s for shipping crates that are 40 ft long x 8 ft wide x 8 ft tall.
Another amazing thing about these shipping crates is that they’re made to stack on top of each other. If you watched the YouTube video about Container City, then you know that every container is made exactly the same, which means they can easily be stacked. This leads to some funky, Lego-like structures that are fun and very interesting to look at.
So How Green Are Shipping Containers?
Shipping containers can be made as green as you want them to be.
Andrew and I are so enthralled with this idea that I think we’re going to go this route instead of buying a micro home. Our idea is to buy three containers, two of which we’ll combine and renovate into a living space, and one which we’ll leave separate for a home office/exercise space.
My goal is to incorporate solar into our design so that we can be off-grid wherever we end up plopping our crates down. We’ve already come up with a really cool design (opening up the roof to allow tons of natural light in, as well as cutting plenty of oval windows like they did with the Container City project, and building a wrap-around deck).
Time for research mode.
Aren’t Shipping Containers Cold and Uncomfortable?
Well, obviously I’ve never been in one. But all the images I’ve seen thus far say the exact opposite. These freight containers are not dark, cold hovels to keep the rain off your head, and you won’t feel like a hobo if you live in one. Once you do some renovations, they can be incredibly inviting, warm spaces that let in far more light than my current home does.
People have cut away entire walls, opened up the roof, and stacked two or three or four willy-nilly to create living spaces that are amazingly inspiring.
You can also buy shipping containers that are already insulated, although I don’t know at this point how well they’re insulated.
And like all mini-homes, they’re also very cost-effective to live in. How much money do you think it takes to heat a 300 square foot living space? What about to cool one in the summer?
Answer: not a lot. Especially if you incorporate a small wood-burning stove.
This young couple (pic on right) in New Zealand transformed a small shipping container into a paradise house. Think they pay a lot of utilities?
No way.
More Shipping Container Resources
So, is your heart pumping with excitement like mine was this weekend? If so, awesome. Here’s a list of more resources you can check out to get you moving…
RenaissanceRonin: Ronin’s blog is a must read if you want to learn how he’s doing it. This post, here, would make a great start on his blog. And, he’s completely hilarious, so don’t miss it.
DwellBox: Want to see what it’s really like to build a shipping container home? Then check out DwellBox. These builders are some of the only ones I’ve found that work with shipping containers. Their blog is very informative, and they have tons of photos detailing every step of the work. Highly recommended.
Container City: I know I’ve posted this link three times by now, but just in case you haven’t clicked on it yet…
FabPreFab.com’s Container Bay: This site has an almost inexhaustable list of shipping container projects all around the globe. The rest of their site is also highly useful if you’re interested in seeing more modern, pre-fab mini homes. Highly recommend it!
TruckertoTrucker.com: If you’re wanting to buy your own shipping crates, this trucking site has a really comprehensive list.
ContainersNow.com: Another site selling shipping containers. This one’s great because they list prices, which is helpful.
AccessContainer.com: This site has a ton of different types of shipping containers, and even a model that’s specially cut out to become a home (which would save money from hiring someone to do that). If you click on “Container”, the precut containers are the last link down the page, where it says “45′ Container Home”.
ZeroCabin.com: This site is amazing. Seriously. Go here now, and just scroll down. These shipping container homes will blow you away.
Hive Modular: This architect was recommended by Ronin, and his shipping crate designs are completely fabulous. Check out it.
As I get more comfortable with my video camera I’m hoping to do more of these quick updates…
By the end of the weekend I managed to get the wall put back together and sanded down in preparation for the new low-VOC stain and sealant. I decided to hold off on the stain, however, until after my houseguests this week are gone. The front two windows are framed. I just need to re-hang the venetian blinds until I get the new window coverings in.
The upside of having traumatized my cat with the plane flight to Portland was that introducing him to my floating home was relatively non-eventful by comparison. Well, at least to start, anyway.
By the time we made it past two airplane flights, one metal detector, one determinedly-helpful Texan, two beers, a 20 minute car ride, and a series of marina ramps in the Oregon rain, Rumi was more-than-happy to be out of his carrier inside something at least vaguely house-like in appearance.
This charitable attitude lasted about twenty minutes into him casing the joint. Then he started to ask increasingly pointed questions Non-cat-owners may be skeptical about my ability to translate a Balinese, but for the believers amongst you, the chatter went along the following lines:
“Oh thank Bastet! We’re back inside. Hey, check this out! There’s even a litter box. Was wondering when I might see one of those. Pardon me for a second, here… Ah. Much better.
Now how’s a chap supposed to get something to eat around here? Oh, I see. Kibble over here. And water. Mrpmh! Chomp. Slurp. Uh, you don’t happen to have a beer lying around anywhere, perchance? Oh well. No worries. This will have to do for now.
So where in the world are we exactly? Oh never mind. You’re no help. You don’t even know where they keep the beer here. And if I ask you, you’re likely to stuff me back in that dreadful carrier. (Sniff.) I’ll just have to check things out for myself.
Interesting. Interesting. Hmm. Smells like birds. (Dinner, perhaps?) Oh, hey! A koosh! Don’t know where it’s been, though. Better drop it in the water bowl. You can never be too safe about that sort of thing…
Hmm. Nice views out the window. Warm spot of sun. No small children or dogs in sight. Not too bad, all things considered… just… where exactly is the REST of the house? And where did they put the furniture? How’s a cat supposed to nap around here?”
At which point I received an inquisitive yowl of inquiry and piercing blue-eyed stare. And no matter how many ways I tried to explain that the two rooms and bathroom were all there was, he simply didn’t seem to get it.
Rumi spent most of the first night walking a puzzled circle through the doors of the house trying to figure out where the other rooms had got off to. About every fifth lap through the house he’d stop by the sleeping loft, stuff his paw up my nose long enough to wake me up and inquire again about what exactly was the deal with the place.
Sometime around 4 AM I decided it probably was a really good thing I hadn’t bought a Tumbleweed or Rumi would have found himself stuffed down the compost toilet in my desperation to get a few hours sleep.
Oddly enough, the fact that our new home was situated on the water didn’t register at all with the cat at all until Day 2.
Just before lunch, Rumi was lazing on a sunny window ledge in the front room when a fishing trawler roared by at top speed.
Rumi’s ears flattened and his eyes bugged out of his angular little head. “That’s a BOAT. What the freak is a BOAT doing tearing through our front yard?!”
And before I could field that question, the wake from the boat hit the house, rocking it violently from side to side.
Rumi hastily scuttled from the window sill to the floor where he did his best impression of a two-dimensional object until the worst of the rocking had stopped. Then he looked up at me in abject horror. “Oh you have GOT to be kidding me! You’re telling me we’re on water? WATER?!!” he finished with a squeak.
I tried to scoop Rumi up into my lap to comfort him but he was having none of it. Instead, he scurried to his carrier and tucked himself inside. If he could have figured out the zipper I’m pretty sure he would zipped himself in, too.
Managing to reassemble some small modicum of dignity, he blinked once sagely and then informed me: “You can take me back to the airport, now.”
Needless to say, Rumi spent most of Day 2 having the feline version of a nervous breakdown. I guess that’s understandable considering he’d just discovered his new home was built upon the most hated (to him) substance on the planet. And I, the one who was usually at his every beck and call, was the one who’d taken him into this very personal version of Cat Hell.
I think what probably saved our relationship was the ducks.
Sometime in the late afternoon of Day 2, our local momma duck and seven ducklings swam lazily by. Rumi was able to catch a glimpse of them from within the confines of the carrier. He might have been able to resist Momma Duck by herself even though she was, by far, the biggest bird he’d ever seen. But the ducklings were just too much.
Rumi was back up in the windowsill chattering in monosyllabic feline lust before he knew what hit him. And even after they drifted away he had no interest in going back into the carrier. He was just so blown away by what he’d seen.
That ended up being the only duckling sighting on Day 2, but a heron swam by about fifteen minutes later. And then a Pomeranian in a kyak a little after that. That pretty much clinched the deal. Grudgingly, he told me it might be okay if we hung around and checked things out for a few days. I just wasn’t to go getting any crazy ideas about baths being okay for cats while I was on this whole water kick..
Since then, Rumi’s favorite place to hang out is in the window by my desk. Periodically he’ll ask me “Will you get a look at this?”
I suspect we may have just found his personal version of cable TV.
(For the die-hard Rumi fans, I’ve attached some rough footage of both Rumi and the ducklings below. Be forewarned that I’m still trying to figure out how to manage the camera without making viewers seasick. Especially when juggling a leash at the same time.)
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Each Friday Coming Unmoored runs a weekly roundup of tiny homes featured on the web and recent news stories that may be of interest to small home enthusiasts. 
The Ecopods are designed to be highly energy efficient meaning that they can be taken off the grid. The ecopod has a bunch of solar powered options, including a solar-powered refrigerator and roof-mounted solar panels. They are designed to use a 80 watt solar panel, which should eliminate the need to run power lines. This, of course, means saving some money as well.
First, I just have to say, wow. I can’t believe the number of thoughtful comments I received last week as part of 
Tammy from 
So How Green Are Shipping Containers?
More Shipping Container Resources
The upside of having 
Oddly enough, the fact that our new home was situated on the water didn’t register at all with the cat at all until Day 2.