16 Prefab Shipping Container Home Companies in the United States
Gone are the days when shipping containers were used solely for transportation and storage. Today, shipping containers are used for many things, including home building.
Prefab shipping containers make incredible homes with their unique style, modern look and creative layout. They're also affordable, easy to construct, and delivered straight to you—a pretty great deal if you ask us.
Interested? Take a look at 16 companies in the United States that are great to use when building a prefab shipping container home. Get inspired.
1. Quik Build (Bernardsville, New Jersey)
"The Quik House is a prefabricated kit house designed by Adam Kalkin from recycled shipping containers. It has three bedrooms and two and one-half baths in its 2,000 square foot plan. The shell assembles within one day at your site, you will have a fully enclosed building. From start to finish, it should take no longer than three months to complete your house" (QuikBuild).
Project Name: Quik House
Quick Build
2. Office of Mobile Design (Los Angeles, California)
"The firm focuses on "portable, demountable, and relocatable structures," from homes to schools to stores. It also explores prefabrication, taking advantage of industrial processes to create a more efficient and nimble architecture" (OMD).
Project Name: Seatrain Residence
Stay up to Date on the Latest in Prefab Homes
From cozy cottages to large family houses, see how prefab continues to redefine the future of construction, building, and design.
3. Numen Development (Houston, Texas)
"We are a design and development firm focused on creating innovative spaces that are structurally, financially, and environmentally efficient! All of our designs utilize re-purposed shipping containers as their primary structure. We work with General Contractors across the country to bring our designs to fruition" (Numen).
Project Name: Cordell House
Numen Development
4. Truth Box Inc. (Providence, Rhode Island)
"We are a small architecture firm specializing in sustainable, energy-efficient design. We design beautiful homes and buildings that are good for their occupants, good for their neighborhoods, and good for the environment. We believe that high quality design and green building go hand-in-hand and that higher performance does not necessarily mean higher costs. We work on a variety of project types - new single family homes, mill building renovations, new multi-family, and commercial buildings - and we particularly enjoy the challenges of urban infill and re-purposing old buildings" (Truth Box).
Project Name: Box Office
Truth Box Inc.
5. LOT-EK (New York, New York)
"Our sustainable approach to construction through upcycling has been the basis of structural projects at all scales. We are committed to ecologically responsible and intelligent methods of building. To that end, we leverage the technological properties of existing industrial objects to create architecture. Our goal is to not only upcycle the objects themselves, but to upcycle the intelligence that went into their development. Beyond the inherent sustainability of our design methodology, we are committed to researching and implementing innovative ways to conserve materials and energy" (LOT-EK).
Project Name: Irving Place
Photo: LOT-EK
6. Hive Modular (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
"Hive homes are designed to be constructed by modular construction techniques, which provide a high level of quality control, minimize exposure of building materials to the elements, and shortens construction time. Hive has taken the time to learn the modular construction industry so that we can leverage the efficiencies of prefab while providing a high level of design. Our background in high-end residential architecture has taught us to respond to client's needs for beautiful and efficient home designs with features we know people want. HIVE architects are available to work with you to produce a uniquely personal design utilizing modular or other prefab systems" (Hive).
Project Name: B-LINE MEDIUM 002
Photo: Hive Modular
7. Logical Homes (Los Angeles, California)
"At Logical Homes our vision is bold, yet simple - to provide a home for every person, and family, on the planet. We achieve this goal by the use of:- up cycled and enviro-conscious materials in our home designs- efficient prefabrication and assembly processes- structured project management and client service processesThe end result is innovative architecture that is value-priced and delivered in a predictable timeframe" (Logical Homes).
Project Name: Aegean 640
Photo: Logical Homes
8. MODULUS (San Jose, California)
"Harmoniously integrating work. play. learn.dream. live through light, space, and experience, for all to peacefully enjoy and remember with pleasure" (MODULUS).
Project Name: Six Oaks
MODULUS
Related Reading
Offsite Architecture: Constructing the Future
Architects have been intrigued by prefabricated construction since the early twentieth century. Recent advances in design, engineering and manufacturing processes have led to a significant expansion in the use of pre-assembled components, which are fitted to finished structures on site. Collectively, such processes are becoming known as "offsite construction."A ground-breaking text, Offsite Architecture establishes the current – and future – state of thinking in this field. A range of the most highly regarded thinkers and practitioners from around the globe share their ideas and practical findings on offsite prefabrication, examining theory and practice, opportunities and challenges, successes and failures. A timely response to the growing interest in this method, the book provides the fundamental basis for a critical, reflective approach to offsite architecture. Contributions from both academics and professionals make Offsite Architecture required reading for practitioners as well as students taking courses in architecture, prefabrication, construction and engineering.
ShopModern Modular: The Prefab Houses of Resolution
Prefabricated housing of high design and quality construction has long been an elusive goal for architects, where industry practices, bureaucratic regulations, and cost have always stood in the way— until now. The New York–based firm Resolution: 4 Architecture is revolutionizing prefab housing with their Modern Modular design system. Home designs based on modules of use intended for communal or private spaces are mixed and matched to achieve an infinite number of designs suited to each buyer's site, budget, and lifestyle. Modern Modular, the first book on the critically acclaimed firm, presents fourteen beautifully photographed case studies illustrating each step in their prefab system—from design and fabrication to transportation, siting, and final construction of distinctively modern and surprisingly affordable new homes. Photo Courtesy of Amazon
SHOP9. SG Blocks (New York, New York)
"We use highly-sustainable, maritime grade shipping containers to build incredible shopping, working, and living environments. We work with architects, developers, builders, and commercial clients to help them build incredibly safe, strong, and green structures using code-engineered shipping containers. We work closely with our partners to source the right box for each project need, then use our unique experience and know-how to build-out each to exact specifications" (SG Blocks).
Project Name: The Beach Box
Photo: SG Blocks
10. Rhotenberry Wellen Architects (Midland, Texas)
Please see website for further information.
Project Name: Dietert Ranch
Rhotenberry Wellen Architects
11. Tomecek Studio (Denver, Colorado)
"We operate at the progressive edges of our profession. Uniquely, we stop, look, and listen. Our observations become the basis for our actions. Our actions are encompassed in a collaborative process: client + architect + task + place. Ultimately, we craft places that live in memory based on the sculpting of light, surface, material and space. We provide creative solutions to our client’s specific circumstances. We employ research-driven processes that yield efficient and unique solutions. We believe in the financial responsibility of the architect, client relationship. Quality is the ultimate measure of value" (Tomecek Studio).
Project Name: Cañon City
Tomecek Studio
12. Travis Price Architects (Washington, D.C.)
"Our work seeks an underlying theme that reflects our clients’ unique spirit of place in the 21st Century. Each design always embodies an authentic modernist space informed by cultural heritage and nature. With our clients we shape a soul for their architecture in pursuit of a "Metaphorical Modernism". We design architecture that shapes the spirit of our shelters, knowing that for years to come, our shelters will shape our spirits. In our work, we are constantly seeking enduring metaphors as form givers. These ideas are translated into a modern idiom reflecting the distinct ecological geographies of each site with the essential mythical underpinnings of each client" (Travis Price Architects).
Project Name: Washing D.C. Residence
Photo: Travis Price
13. SunDog Structures (Tampa, Florida)
"At SUNdog, we can build your dream. We design, fabricate and install our shipping container homes and buildings on your site. We work with homeowners, developers and businesses to create buildings designed to achieve your goals. Smart and sustainable, our buildings are designed to perform" (SunDog Structures).
Project Name: Pinellas Park
SunDog Structures
14. HyBrid Architecture (Seattle, Washington)
"Hybrid was originally established as a competition team in 2003. We got our start building and designing efficient homes with shipping containers" (HyBrid Architecture).
Project Name: House H
HyBrid Architecture
15. TAYNR (Sacramento, California)
"Shipping container homes are the hallmarks of architectural innovation. ISBUs (Intermodal Steel Building Units) are reused as structures for any place and for any purpose. Be it a home, office, or a palace, shipping containers are inexpensive and durable buildings for residential, commercial and even industrial use. Storage containers can stand superior in the face of building codes. Since they are originally built for transport, they can be easily moved when they need to be. They can withstand practically any extreme weather, such as hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes" (TAYNR).
Project Name: Sacramento ADU
TAYNR
16. Giant Containers (Los Angeles, California)
"We offer numerous residential, commercial and industrial solutions to a wide range of clients. Whatever the challenge, we believe an eco-friendly, low cost custom enclosure is the best solution. Our talented team provides a full spectrum of service, beginning with conceptualization, to production, to implementation" (Giant Containers).
Project Name: G640 Model
Giant Containers
Published
Last Updated