Pros and Cons of Container Emergency Housing or Modular Emergency Housing
In light of the natural disasters throughout the US and the start of hurricane season, people are thinking about storm shelters as well as emergency housing after natural disasters. As various organizations plan out emergency housing, two options start to emerge – container emergency housing and modular emergency housing. Both options have their pros and cons. Recently, Global Possiblities, a non-profit “committed to educating the public about solutions to our ecological, economic and political crises” posted an article debating the merits of both options. in the meantime, Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects, a Tokyo-based architectural firm, has created container emergency housing that can transition from temporary to permanent homes and is stackable.
Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects Ex-Container Project, 2 x 20' containers are easy to transport. Image © Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects
In a nutshell, here are the arguments for each side:
Container Emergency Housing
Pros - Quick to convert to housing as needed - Cheap to store - Easy to transport
Cons - Fixed lengths and widths are less flexible - Architectural style less mainstream
Modular Emergency Housing
Pros - Generous room sizes - More “human-scaled,” meaning more geared toward comfortable living in versus containers which are more transportation-geared. - Architectural style more mainstream
Cons - Difficult to transport - More labor-intensive to build - Expensive to store
So which is better? It is hard to say. What do you think? What pros and cons are not considered here?