The Savannah Project, an artist’s container home and studio | Julio Garcia
Artist and designer Julio Garcia is known for his mixed media prints. When creating his own home and studio, he worked on a larger scale but still succeeded in joining disparate elements into a unified whole, working with industrial shipping containers, natural materials and the lush foliage of his lot in Savannah, Georgia. As a port city, Savannah has an abundance of shipping containers made obsolete by the largely one-way flow of consumer goods from China to America. Garcia repurposed two such containers to create the small budget-conscious home seen here.
The two 40′ shipping containers were placed about 6′ apart on a foundation system of steel I-beams resting on concrete piers. The 6′ gap was filled with a wood-framed floor and shed roof, and the container sidewalls were then cut away to create a large open living area. Two I-beams spanning the room hold up the roof, replacing the structural support that was lost with the walls. Garcia left the exteriors of the two containers in their original battered state as a reminder of their industrial past. Natural wood delineates the gap between the containers as well as the new window openings cut into them.
Contrasting with the exterior, Garcia gave the inside a clean contemporary look. The kitchen is subtly set off from the rest of the open living area by the use of wood flooring instead of what appears to be black-tinted concrete. The black floor and countertops set off the white walls used to display artwork. There is only one bedroom, at the end of one of the containers. Looking at the photos, it seems like it would be fairly easy to create a second bedroom by closing off the opposite end of the other container. Garcia left the original container loading doors functional, and they can be opened to the decks at either end of the small house.
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Photographs by Tessa Blumenberg, courtesy of Price Street Projects. Via Busyboo.
Text copyright 2013 SmallHouseBliss. All Rights Reserved.
Impossibly cool. Of so so so many small houses I’ve looked at, for some reason, this is my absolute fav. Think it’s the magic of repurposing otherwise worthless containers, while on the inside, creating a super nice living experience. Just love this.
Any way to get an idea of total creation costs????
– AB in SunnyHappySantaBarbara
Hi Andrew, we don’t have the total cost for this container house. However in one article Julio Garcia talked in general terms about being to get a container for $500 to $1000 and finishing it for $73 to $90 a square foot. I hope that helps!
cheers,
Mili
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I actually like the idea of converting containers into beautiful houses.;)
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looks very similar to Benjamin Garcia Saxe’s work in Costa Rica.. http://www.benjamingarciasaxe.com/containers-of-hope/
This is it! I want to live in this exact house. I hope it can be recreated elsewhere with a slightly larger deck.
love your work Julio. For the past couple of years I’ve been dreaming about a container home similar to yours. I would love to chat if you’re on facebook
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I have wondered about something like this and if it was possible to do this.wow I guess it is. I wish I had the talent and the ability to do this. I will be homeless by the end of July. I am disabled my husband suffers from severe migraines that cause stroke symptims after 11 yrs working in Ener Room he lost his job in march 2013, denied disability twice he has to wait to go in front of a SSD judge to see if eligible, end of 2015. I joke that our address will be a couple of cardboard boxes but never thought of shipping containers..Well maybe a couple of tents for us…Well congrats to these very smart and talented people
How would it do in a hurricane or earthquake?
Not well. I work for FEMA. No houses do well in hurricanes or earthquakes except perhaps a teepee that can be moved out of the way.
this is my dream home!!!! We are planning to go this way with my husband. We will send pictures after we finish the project. Paula, Argentina (Patagonia)
Are the container homes being built and offered with plans?If so any contact information?Thank you. Darlene
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Wow that looks incredible!!
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