Building with containers

# 1 Make a connection

With the arrival of their two children, Rina-Marie and Niel’s 90m² cottage on the family farm soon became too small and they were keen to extend However, with the old shepherd’s cottage dating back to the late 1700s, they were sensitive to preserving its original character. “We didn’t want to build on and make the new part look old to match the cottage,” says Rina-Marie. “Instead, we planned a very modern addition so that one could clearly see the difference between the old and the new, thereby retaining the charm of the existing dwelling.”

The Van Veldens looked at various building options and under the guidance of architect Stephen Hitchcock of Stretch Architects, they opted for containers. “With the site located on a slope, containers worked out much cheaper than any other building method