Tour Kevin Copeland's CARGO By KVN Shipping Container Home in Atlanta

It was a simple idea: Build a house using empty shipping containers, those house-size metal boxes used to move cargo and goods across the country and across oceans. Atlanta builder Kevin Copeland had ample time to study them. With sturdy metal walls, 8-foot ceilings and more than 300 square feet of empty space, he could imagine that a container would be big enough to live in. Outfitted with windows and doors, he realized that big metal box, 40 feet long x 8 feet long wide, could be the start of something bigger, a move toward affordable housing that is currently not available to a large segment of the population.

To that end, Kevin founded CARGO by KVN, a development company focused on repurposing used shipping containers. His most recent project is a three-story home in Atlanta’s Pittsburgh community, using shipping containers to form the bottom floor.