Unusual house is made out of six shipping containers

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- For more than a year, people traveling down West Benton Avenue in Flagstaff have been treated to an amazing sight: a tea-green home constructed of six shipping containers that rear up out of an otherwise conventional residential landscape.

"The contractors said they have two to six requests for tours every day," said Marvin Glotfelty, a Phoenix hydro­geologist who owns the home with his wife, Marie Jones, a graphic designer and artist. "We know that probably slows their work down, but that's OK. "

The home is near completion after 1½ years of work. The couple, who are in their 50s and have been married for 22 years, probably will move in within two months. Glotfelty said the 2,000-square-foot home may end up costing as much as $400,000 with all the "bells and whistles" they have added.

"This is a demonstration project," he said. "We wanted to set an example."

Systems include thick concrete floors heated with a radiant heating system, with settings controlled through an Internet connection.

North-facing Kalwall panels, a high-performance translucent fenestration system, will glow at night and be warmer than glass windows.

Two storage tanks, with 3,000-gallon and 1,000-gallon capacities, will harvest water off the roof.

For its many forward-thinking features, the home received a 2010 Sustainable Building Award from the Coconino County Sustainable Building Program.

It was one of 12 buildings recognized for meeting guidelines for promoting sustainability and minimizing negative ecological and social impact in building design, construction and operations.

The home uses five 40-foot shipping containers plus one 20-foot container, which is detached and will serve as an office for Glotfelty. He is founder of Clear Creek Associates in Scottsdale, a hydrology consulting firm.

"These are like tic-tac-toe," Glotfelty said, standing in the center of the downstairs. "The containers are offset. We're in the middle of the tic-tac-toe here."

The containers were bought from a Phoenix shipping-container company that fitted out the boxes with steel-framed windows before shipping them by truck to Flagstaff.

After arrival, installation on pedestals was accomplished by a crane. Foam insulation was sprayed into the walls.

"My inspiration for building with containers came from several sources," Jones said. "One was our proximity to the rail line, and the experience of watching the containers go by. Also I've always been interested in buildings made from unlikely materials, and I'd seen buildings made from containers online."

The bedrooms, including one for the couple's 15-year-old son, are all upstairs.

"They're small bedrooms; there's not much room," Glotfelty said. "If you want intimacy, this would not be the house for you. It's pretty open. If you stand upstairs, you can smell the bacon cooking in the kitchen downstairs. That's more us."

Glotfelty was raised in Tuba City and received bachelor's and master's degrees from Northern Arizona University.

Jones is a newcomer to the area.

"I'm ready to live in Flagstaff as soon as we can work out the details of our lives to shift our life there," she said.