Shipping container village coming to the UK

Planning permission has been granted for a development of micro homes made out of converted shipping containers in Buckinghamshire’s county town

As towns and cities become more crowded, architects are increasingly turning to micro homes and alternative building methods to solve housing problems. Now a new development in a town on London’s commuter belt not only promises to make the most of available space but also keep costs down.

Fraser Brown MacKenna (FBM) has been given the green light to develop a collection of micro homes in Aylesbury that will turn shipping containers into what the architects firm describes as “contemporary and environmentally-friendly homes” for social rent.

READ MORE: These cheap container homes cost next to nothing

The Gatehouse Road development is the latest part of a plan to regenerate the town by the Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust and will be built on a disused garage site, which is prone to anti-social behaviour.

FBM says the project will provide seven low-cost homes while retaining parking and improving access to surrounding homes.

The project will see shipping containers converted into 26.2 square metre single-person colourful homes for social rent, which has been designed to complement other local urban architecture such as the bright Serpentine housing estate, which opened in 2012. The new shipping container homes will be surrounded by landscaped grassy areas, with semi-mature trees and sedum roofs aimed to enhance local ecology.

The mini housing development will also feature geometric block paving and coloured tarmac on the road, giving it a unique identity.

118 Vallance Road, a new apartment block made from shipping containers designed by Patalab, has received planning permission from London Borough of Tower Hamlets

By being able to create the modular homes off-site and deliver them here, FBM hopes to keep costs low and make less of an environmental impact.

A statement on FBM’s website says: “Our design transforms an under-used garage site that suffers from anti-social behaviour into an attractive ‘home-zone’ development.”

Meanwhile, Patalab Architecture recently received approval for its nine-storey office block made of shipping containers in east London and when completed it will be the tallest building of its kind in the world.

Photo: Fraser Brown MacKenna