Hurricane Proof Container Home in Davie, Florida

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One of the advantages of shipping container architecture is its solidity against extreme weather events. This, and cost to build by comparison to standard building methods, were two factors that led Ashgar Fathi to build a container home for himself and his family in hurricane-prone Davie, Florida.

Florida, like parts of Australia, is in an extreme weather hot zone, with a number of hurricanes hitting the state annually. In our last article we looked at a home in Brisbane that has been built to survive floods. With climate change, weather events are set to grow in intensity and regularity, so for someone considering a new-build the shipping container concept should be seriously considered.

Davie container home

The eight-container, 3,000 square foot (279 square metre) home is built over three storeys. It is to house Fathi, his wife, son and son’s partner with ample space to be together or apart in the home.

One of the immediate advantages to container architecture is the overall cost – without skimping on fixtures and fittings, the home has cost him US$330,000 (AU$477,000), or $110 (AU$159) per square foot.

There a few factors at play in the cost of building a container home:

Speed of construction
Relative low cost of containers (around AU$3,000 new)
Much of the fit-out can be done off-site in all weathers.

This is why container home construction is becoming increasingly popular around the world. Fathi already has a full order book for new, similar constructions.

Weatherproof container construction

Image source: Fathi Architects

In a previous blog here at Gateway Container Sales we looked at why containers don’t make good escape rooms from fire. You effectively jump out of the fire and into an oven. Firestorms, like those around Sydney, just now are pretty much the only weather event you shouldn’t feel safe in in a container home.

However, homes of this type make for great hurricane, cyclone and flood boltholes – you are as well protected as five tonnes of iPhones would be in a Pacific storm at sea. The design is over-engineered to take several tonnes of cargo, to be stacked three storeys high and to withstand the worst the marine environment can chuck at it.

Speaking to the Sun Sentinel, Fathi said, “It’s a simple, straight-forward modern building, and it’s strong and durable, termite-proof, hurricane-proof.”

Practicalities aside, the home doesn’t look like a storm bunker. Instead, while paying homage to its basic building blocks, it looks like any modern home with spacious, airy, comfortable rooms. A hurricane proof home with real style in short.

Gateway Container Sales

So, what about you over here in Australia? Could you be looking to build a home for yourself in an area of increasingly extreme weather events? Do you need a cheap, quickly built home that stands out from the crowd?

In that case, get in touch with us here at Gateway Container Sales to see about buying shipping containers, the basic building blocks for what you need. We’d love to hear from you!