Amsterdam has implemented an amazing green architecture technique to deal with limited space and lower income needs: Retired shipping containers. These small houses can even be used for temporary disaster relief housing.  Not only that but, According to figures from SG BLOCKS, a New York-based shipping container builder,

fitting a container for housing use takes only one-twentieth the amount of energy of reprocessing the same amount of steel—and results in an additional hundred years of lifetime.

So it’s more green than recycling the shipping containers, but it also costs less than constructing new housing.

Companies that build modular buildings from shipping containers claim savings of 20 to even 50 percent of traditional construction costs.

Not to mention they’re practically real life legos for people to live in. BAM!

 

Sources:

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/sustainable-earth/pictures-amsterdam-shipping-container-homes/#/rio-20-un-climate-conference-shipping-container-homes-sitting_54416_600x450.jpg

http://www.sgblocks.com/the-sg-blocks-advantage/better-for-the-environment/