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The US$55,000 Port-a-bach relocatable home (in a shipping container)

The US$55,000 Port-a-bach relocatable home (in a shipping container)
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December 1, 2008 The appeal of regularly relocating where we live probably comes from our nomadic origins as a species, and over the years we’ve thrilled at the possibilities of some remarkable constructs designed to enable just that: the Icosa Pod, miniHome, Free Spirit Sphere, Nackros Villa, LoftCube, Trilobis, Kitahaus, and the relocatable sphere house. New Zealand is one of those countries where its near-to-no-one geographic location has created a hotbed of innovation through necessity and the Kiwi-produced Port-a-bach is particularly inventive because it is based around a remanufactured shipping container. As such, the NZD$100,000 (US$55,000) fold-out dwelling is not just rugged due to its natural steel exoskeleton, it’s as easy to transport internationally as it is to transport locally on a standard container truck. It has low environmental impact and can connect to local utilities or be entirely power, water and sewer independent.

Firstly, if you’re not familiar with the word Bach (pronounced Batch), it’s colloquial Kiwi terminology originally derived from “Batchelor Pad” and relates to the small modest structures used as beach houses and holiday homes scattered across New Zealand’s picturesque landscape.

We think the Port-a-bach is something much more than that as it offers many possibilities beyond the remarkable list of relocatable homes above. For starters, it’s the perfect home for a disaster situation – for instance, the world’s largest container ship could carry nearly 8000 fully assembled, off-the-grid Port-a-Bachs, each providing a cabin 6.1 meters by 2.4 meters and capable of sleeping four adults in comfort, or many more depending upon the modular design. The designers, Cecille Bonifait and William Giesen of Atelier workshop in Wellington, opted for extra height of a 2.8 meter tall container instead of the standard 2.2 meter height.

All that’s required is 40 square meters of relatively flat ground and six concrete pads to serve as foundations.

“If we were to manufacture specifically for a natural disaster scenario, we’d use a different set of modules inside the container”, Bonifait told Gizmag.

The company originally planned to manufacture in China, and the first prototype was indeed constructed in China, but “we just could not get the quality we required there and we hav now opted to manufacture the containers entirely in New Zealand to ensure we can have the finish and quality we require”, said Bonifait.

“We can also manufacture specifically to specific requirements,”, she said. “If for example, you wanted to have no kitchen and more beds, or the complete sustainable unit with solar panels and all modern conveniences, we can work to any specification.’

“The NZ100,000 price is for the basic unit, and we have a broad range of modular designs for different needs."

Contact Atelier Workshop here, and check out this short clip which appeared on New Zealand's Channel 3 about the product here.

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4 comments
4 comments
Gadgeteer
Buckminster Fuller designed something similar at least 50 years ago. It could be trucked to a site then the walls would fold down to create floors. Cabinets and appliances were attached to the former walls and fit together like a puzzle when closed, so no room was wasted in its shipping state.
Facebook User
If you are considering modular or prefab home, building with recycled shipping containers is worth taking a look at.
Good resource is the Residential Shipping Container Primer website. A SHOWCASE OF SHIPPING CONTAINER HOMES AND BUILDINGDS, AND A DO IT YOURSELF (DIY) REFERENCE FOR CONVERTING RECYCLED INTERMODAL CARGO SHIPPING CONTAINERS INTO BUILDINGS AND ARCHITECTURE.
Lots of great example buildings, details, facts, and links to other articles. They have something new that you can setup your own project wiki to get help with your project if you are considering a design build project.
www.ResidentialShippingContainerPrimer.com
rigjunkie
Why not a bunch of these things to replace housing in disaster-stricken areas. They should be quick to build in a factory setting. If some thought went into them, could actually be stacked inside a steel framework to save ground space (well, yea, need stairs and roof and hall floor, but still, cheap.
Steve Job
"Why not a bunch of these things to replace housing in disaster-stricken areas." Seriously?
hmmmmm. Government's Military Spending > Spending it on helping the poor, homeless & mentally ill.
you could make it out of toilet paper and the government would decline the spending.
it's so funny that as a liberal, i am left scratching my head regarding our current administration, who i helped vote in twice. whatever happened to closing gitmo? talk talk talk.. that's all that we hear, yet we all put up with it.