[imagesource: Dezeen]

The rise and rise of the tiny house trend shows no signs of slowing down.

The most popular base for these pared-down living spaces is old shipping containers which have been repurposed to create sustainable and eco-friendly homes.

Designers haven’t stopped there, though. Hotels and other buildings, some of which have been hailed as architectural masterpieces, are cropping up all over the world.

Here in South Africa, the ‘tiny house’ movement has seen a surge in popularity, due in part to affordability.

The latest in container living comes to us from the town of Wertheim in Germany.

Dezeen took a closer look at the work of Containerwerk.

Building startup Containerwerk has turned old shipping containers into 21 micro apartments for visitors to the town of Wertheim in Germany.

Photo: Dezeen

Called My Home, each apartment sits in a decommissioned shipping container. The containers have been arranged in groups of three and clad in timber.

Containerwerk worked in partnership with developer Nicolas de Fejer, and his business partners Felix von Knobelsdorff and Clemens Müller.

We feel obliged to point out that Felix von Knobelsdorff is one heck of a name, and sounds like something out of an Austin Powers movie.

The short stay housing development is aimed at business travellers and tourists looking for an alternative to a hotel stay.

Photo: Dezeen

Untreated local timber was selected for the cladding to create an “aesthetic overlap” with the surrounding trees and the “trendy” containers, said de Fejer.

Photo: Dezeen

…”We all travel a lot on business and are fed up with the dark, stuffy corridors and restrictive rooms typical of many hotels,” said Müller, a structural engineer by training.

Photo: Dezeen

“The whole project is sustainable,” added Von Knobelsdorff. “Even the first step sees valuable resources being conserved due to decommissioned and scrapped freight containers being used.”

It’s worth remembering that while freight containers are working hard as sustainable living units, their former life saw them shipping goods around the world, which is no mean feat, either.

South African-owned shipping logistics company Berry & Donaldson has been in the business of moving goods for more than 55 years, handling every step of the complicated process, but they’re sticking to what they know and steering clear of the apartment game.

The Wertheim apartments were constructed in Containerwerk’s facility, and then transported to the site on a truck. The foundations are such that each container can be taken apart and moved, and the land would return to its former state.

Photo: Dezeen

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the apartments are booked up thanks to their contactless access, optional self-catering, and close proximity to a local hospital.

If you find yourself in Germany once travel restrictions are lifted, and would like to stay in a retired container with a long and storied history on the open seas, check out the Containerwerk Facebook page for more details.

[source:dezeen]