With air conditioning and solar panels: This is what container homes for the homeless in Arizona look like
These Phoenix container homes come with all the amenities and appliances of a well-equipped modern house.
In Phoenix, architect Brian Stark has set his sights on a creatively grounded solution to America’s growing affordable-housing dilemma—literally building from the ground up using leftover steel.
Opting for repurposed shipping containers rather than newly manufactured materials, Stark sees considerable environmental and financial benefits in this approach.
“We’re not consuming or producing that steel—it already exists‚” he explains, encouraging a mindset shift toward reuse over relentless consumption. “There’s a huge ability to save. And that’s how I think we have to start thinking that way, is using what we have versus just keep on consuming.”
In partnership with Steel + Spark and the City of Phoenix, Stark has introduced a unique housing design dubbed the “X-WING” shelters. Each one comprises four shipping containers arranged in an X-formation, joined in the middle and topped with solar panels.
Each container is divided into five modest, individual rooms—all climate-controlled—and the whole unit can be assembled in just one week.
These shelters are more than clever design: they address a pressing crisis. In 2024, roughly 771,480 Americans experienced homelessness on any given night—an 18% rise over the previous year. In Arizona alone, approximately 14,737 people found themselves unhoused on a single night in 2024, marking a 3% increase from 2023.
And thanks to Trump, the problem doesn’t look like it will go away any sooner: In early 2025, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Office of Community Planning and Development faced an 84% staffing cut, threatening timely aid to local organisations serving homeless individuals. His administration also moved away from “Housing First” policies, instead promoting outdated and ineffective enforcement tactics, a more punitive approach to homelessness.
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