Lego Living: Shipping Containers Become Affordable Housing

"Building a home out of a metal box may seem like a peculiar idea to some, but to Kent Pipes it's a vision in green.

Pipes, president and CEO of The Affordable Homes Group in Mount Holly, plans to build homes and homeless shelters out of the 8-by-40-foot ISO heavy-gauge steel shipping containers that can be frequently seen stacked up at American ports. The cost would be around $20,000 and they would come with everything a normal home comes with -- separate rooms, working plumbing, deck space and more.

Pipes attended a Mount Holly planning board meeting on Monday to obtain final approval for a house to be developed on Filbert Street in Mount Holly for sale as affordable housing. Once the plans are approved, Pipes said they hope to begin the project by the end of the year.

Pipes' concept involves building a duplex home made from the recycled containers. The plans for each house include a basement, dining room, kitchen, living room, den, porch, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, stairs, decks, skylights and storage. To help with the insulation, storm water runoff and the greenhouse effect, vegetation will be planted on the flat roofs."