Housing and property prices have long been an ongoing problem for South Africans, but in recent years a new living option has sparked the attention of many: container living.
Shipping containers are given a new life and transformed into chic apartments, homes and even office spaces at a fraction of the cost of similar developments.
A local company that specialises in these unique creations, Berman-Kalil Housing Concepts, says people are often pleasantly surprised by container homes.
The pros of container living seem endless, but the main ones include mobility, building time and affordability.
The versatile materials allow builders and designers of the home or office space to use the full extent of their creative abilities.
Shipping containers’ unusual shapes and orientations force homeowners and designers to think out of the box.
These structures can be built using any number of the shipping containers by combining them to increase their size.
In general, these installations can cost anywhere from R7 000 per square metre to the more pricey option of R10 000 per square metre. This makes container living roughly 30 to 35% cheaper than the more common housing options in South Africa.
Besides their cost effectiveness, container-living options are also more eco-friendly as they recycle already-existing materials for their creation, and owners can further their environmentally-conscious inclinations by installing composting toilets.
If you are considered this modern option but would like to first see for yourself what container living is like, you can visit Copia Eco Cabins on Keisseskraal Farm, where all of the units are made from recycled containers.
Young entrepreneur Lucas Steyn first become absorbed by the idea of container living for himself, but once he realised the opportunity for renting these unique spaces out and highlighting sustainable eco-tourism, he invested in the idea fully. He has made these environmentally conscious-creations available as weekend getaways.
It important to note that when its comes to container living there are a lot of companies out their charging more than necessary for helping locals to design and build their homes and many people have started creating their own container homes independently which is far more cost effective, watch this space for more updates on container living and how you can do it yourself.
If you’re looking to get your own container home check out Berman-Kalil Housing Concepts
For more details on Copia Eco Cabins, you can click here.
Pictures: Facebook/Copia Eco Cabins/@bryni/Berman-Kalil Housing Concepts