| Location |
| About Jorge Salcedo |
| About Braid Contracting |
| Designer and Builder | Jorge Salcedo, Braid Contracting |
| Project | Gold Container Home |
| Containers | 4 |
| Area | 3,000 square foot |
| Cost | $610,000 (2018) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Location | Phoenix, Arizona, USA |
Description by realtor, 2018
A home constructed of shipping containers is unlike anything the Phoenix housing market has seen. The structure, consisting of four shipping containers, is a fascinating riff on the region’s shipping container craze, which includes The Churchill, a small-business incubator downtown built from containers.
The homeowner, who’s also an engineer, built this three-bedroom, four-bath passion project at the urging of his two children and lived in it briefly. It’s now listed with Shara Terry of Berkshire Hathaway for $610,000.
“He wants to take this concept and see where it can go, perhaps build more,” says Terry.
For those leery about waking up in what might feel like a steel cage, listen up: “When you’re inside the home, it’s seamless, especially upstairs,” Terry says. “It’s a hybrid. You’ve got two shipping containers on the east and two on the west, with traditional framing in the center.”
Taking a year to build, the 3,000-square-foot property has a dazzling interior that bears little resemblance to the cold metal of a container. Catering to eco-minded buyers, the four-car garage features a car charger and is wired for a workshop. Aluminum radiant barrier material aims to combat Arizona’s harsh sun from heating up the home’s interior.
South Mountain, where the home is located, is a booming area of Phoenix and named for the nearby mountain.
“Every window you look out of captures [a view],” says Terry. “If you’re washing the dishes, for example, you can see the East Valley.”
And the neighborhood is on the rise, and appealing to a savvy investor looking for a different type of dwelling.
“South Mountain has rewoken up,” says Terry. “It was quite the craze back in the day, until everything kind of halted when the market crashed.”
In 2020, the Loop 202 (South Mountain Freeway)—a 22-mile extension of the 202 freeway—will be complete, connecting with Interstate 10 and the West Valley. And the new Valley Metro Baseline light-rail line is a mile north.
Because this area is close to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Terry thinks a new owner might use it as a “crash pad” for airline pilots and flight attendants. It could also be used for a corporation’s social events, given its eye-catching design. Whatever the use, we’re sure it’s a place that will always remain cool in the desert.
Description by Braid Contracting
More predictable price management, faster deployment, stronger structures, environmentally friendly, and ultimately more cost effective- Braid is innovating by reassessing the basic building blocks of construction through the use of fallowed shipping containers.
Braid’s recently completed Gold Container Home is an exercise in Symmetry, Harmony and Sustainability. The house was built on 4 Maximum size containers and filled with cutting edge technology that allows it to flow with its environment, and be environmentally friendly as well.
Jorge Salcedo originally envisioned the design around two stacks of shipping containers with an expansive area in the middle that would provide for an industrial-level workshop in the garage area on the first floor with the living area on the second floor with expansive views of BOTH the mountains and the city of Phoenix, Arizona.
Jorge partnered with Colombian architect Gregorio Baquero who helped finalize the magical and seemingly emotional shapes that make the Gold Container Home so striking. Some of the strategic and inspired choices they took include:
Tilting the position of the house to ensure it was in line and contextual with the stunning surrounding mountain range which lies slightly angled to the south. The entire house was arranged to match that angle, so that the main balcony and living room is facing them directly, ensuring that the mountains are more personally enjoyed.
Matching the slope of the house's roof to that of the rising mountains in its backyard.
Envisioning North and Southside balconies that are nestled perfectly to protect from direct sunlight starting as early as 10:30am in the summertime.
Technology
A typical house doesn't have technology as a key feature. This is not a typical house.
There are dozens of unique technological choices that were carefully considered throughout, but of specific attention were the materials used, industrial-grade electrical wiring, internet and intranet connectivity, and the engineering required for key architectural features.
Materials
A metal house in the desert is expected to be hot. Not this one. Taking a page from space-design the GCH uses a pure 100% aluminum foil (not unlike that used in outer-space craft) which simply reflects all the heat back out to space preventing it from entering the house.
High-strength, machine-cut and assembled wood joints to support the overarching architectural details throughout the house.
Factory-grade 3-Phase electrical wiring allowing for charging of EV's at 40Kwh (80 miles per hour charged) as well as heavy-duty machinery for ANY workshop project imaginable.
Gigabit, sound, and coaxial cable connectivity in all corners of the house. Engineered from the ground up to be a house for the future you can be online, in-tune, and plugged into the top connectivity speeds around.
Location
| Address | 2753 E South Mountain Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85042 USA |
Perfectly nestled between nature and the thriving city of Phoenix the home is a minute walk from the almost 3,000 ft tall mountains of the world's largest urban park and yet just a 10 minute drive to one of the nations busiest airports, Phoenix Sky Harbor.
Located about 500 feet above the main city elevation, the house provides truly exceptional views of both the mountains on the south and the city urban environment which includes a direct view of the airport's 7R/25L runway.
About Jorge Salcedo
Civil Engineer. Visionary. Builder.
Jorge has a global career building projects on four continents.
He builds BIG: as in continent-spanning oil/gas pipelines big.
Big as in a country-wide design and deploying of a new cell-phone network in Argentina.
And big as in a stadium and several massive commercial and real estate developments in Colombia.
Jorge is now focused on refining the art of container-home construction with multiple projects under development in Arizona under his firm Braid Contracting.
About Braid Contracting
With over 3,000,000 sqft of affordable hotel renovations in the past 15 years, Braid is at the forefront of quick turn-around hospitality redevelopment.
We have multi-decade experience deploying energy projects globally in both oil/gas pipeline projects as well as solar.
Many can develop custom high-end homes, however, Braid excels at constructing in complex materials as well as in remote and high-grade locations.
We have developed over 350,000 square feet of high density residential properties with another 30,000 in current progress.
Our project management experience includes highly technical nation-scale telecom deployment.
Braid Contracting is fast becoming a leader in shipping container-based construction with multiple projects under development in the US Southwest.
| Address | 6210 E McKellips Rd, Mesa, AZ 85215-2823 USA |
| Phone | +1 602-607-0657 |
| Website | http://www.braidcontracting.com/ |
| Project Website | https://www.goldcontainerhome.com/ |
| More shipping container homes in Arizona: |
| Shipping Container Apartments for Rent, Phoenix, Arizona |
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3000 sq ft Shipping Container House, Phoenix, Arizona