A very stylish and highly sustainable residential housing solution in Costa Rica was designed by architect Maria Jose Trejos on a spec assignment from a client who works as a professional photographer. The idea was to gain inspiration from the work/play philosophy practiced by tech companies such as Google; in essence, to create a space to foster creativity and industriousness while at the same time inviting recreation and leisure.

Casa InCubo is made from eight recycled shipping containers. The use of these intermodal containers (also known as conex boxes) for residential housing solutions in Costa Rica has been on the rise over the last few years. In fact, The Costa Rica Star has reported on the work of young architect Benjamin Garcia Saxe as well as on the use of recycled containers to make special classrooms and labs at the Technology Institute of Costa Rica (TEC).

Ms. Trejos’ ideas was to maximize the use of the containers and minimize the need for concrete. This is a large home that is airy, well-lit and spacious; it is dominated by a large cedar tree and a sizable garden that can be enjoyed from just about any interior space.

The homeowner insisted on a house that would leave the least possible carbon footprint. To this end, natural lighting is abundant, and virtually all construction materials used are either recycled or biodegradable. More on this topic is explained by “green news” website Tree Hugger:

By reusing transport objects, costs were minimized and the completion time was shortened by 20%. The impact on the environment and generation of CO2 were also reduced, as the details of the house make the most of the climatic elements. The central module, with its double height space, acts as a lung with crossed ventilation and the west façade is glazed to let in natural light so that during the daytime it is unnecessary to use electric fixtures.