Although a rhino might have trouble squeezing into it, an individual or a couple would fit quite nicely. “It” is a new type of sustainable housing dreamed up by Louisville-based Rhino Cubed. The company’s environmentally friendly “houses” are made from spent shipping containers.
Created by architect/artist Sam Austin and arts patron/environmentalist Jan Burton, the houses combine art and sustainability by repurposing shipping containers otherwise destined for the dump. The converted containers could be mountain getaways or urban guesthouses. Available in two sizes—8- or 10-by-20-feet—the houses sport artistic flourishes, such as a metal rhino-horn sculpture and a splattered exterior finish reminiscent of a Jackson Pollock painting. At $60,000, the houses aren’t cheap, but they are pretty and off the grid, and a compostable toilet is an add-on option.
Rhino Cubed hopes the houses will inspire off-the-grid living in nature. “We believe spending time in nature and the outdoors enriches the soul,” Austin says, adding that our complex world needs a complement—“something smaller and simpler.” Visit www.rhinocubed.com.
