Container house

Inside the 'circular building' theme, Kokon designs container houses. The shipping container is a symbol of circularity. The steel is entirely recyclable, the shape travels the world over time and time again, before it ends as the basis of a house's structure.

In terms of building physics, a shipping container presents a real challenge. Steel is vapour tight, as well as an enormous energy leak, if not adequately insulated. Therefore, the basic shipping container structure is covered in PIR-sandwich panels on the outside, to meet the current energy requirements.

The municipality of Doesburg requires a landscape comprising of distinct roofs. Utilising a characteristically traditional Dutch roof shape, a modern but recognisable image is achieved. The chimney completes this imagery, and the end product is a circular house, of which the shipping container in its core is entirely invisible. This primarily because the Dutch housing market isn’t ready for circular shipping container projects.