From Shipping container to luxury home

Innovative use of shipping containers characterizes this home design.

Some of the most innovative work in home design happening right now is being undertaken with an unexpected medium: shipping containers. A 2019 article in Dwell helped explain why — they’re durable and modular, meaning that you can easily create a cozy or spacious home or office with them as the base. And, over the last few years, shipping container homes have found a growing audience.

There are shipping container homes, and then there’s the Starburst House, designed by Whitaker Studio. An article at Business Insider notes that this distinctive home is on the market for $3.5 million, with construction on it due to begin next year. It’s spacious, distinctive and located near Joshua Tree National Park. Oh, and it’s made from 21 shipping containers.

“The home’s exoskeleton of cuboid forms emanate in all directions oriented to capture the sheer beauty of the vistas, sky and desert-scape,” reads the listing for the house from realtors Engel & Völkers.

The house features a trio of bathrooms and solar panels capable of powering the entire place. It was originally commissioned by film producer Chris Hanley, who has a penchant for distinctive architecture — he’s also one of the people behind the nearby Invisible House, which resembles a horizontally-aligned skyscraper.

It’s not hard to see the appeal of Starburst House, both via its innovative use of pre-existing objects and for how that design works to showcase the stunning landscape that will surround the building. And it’s a truly unique space to boot.

Source: InsideHook