VMD (Vivienda Minima de Descanso) from STUDIOROCA is a line of prefabricated tiny homes built from disused shipping containers in Mexico, with an interior equipped with off-grid capabilities and simple luxuries.
These days, everyone’s downsizing. Tiny homes have become the answer to our neverending quest for a smaller carbon footprint and campers bring us that much closer to the mobile lifestyle each one of us dreams about. For Mexico-based architecture firm, STUDIOROCA, shipping containers hold the key.
After asking the question of our times, “What would you do with less?”, Rodrigo Alegre and Carlos Acosta of STUDIOROCA pumped out a line of prefabricated homes, VMD (Vivienda Minima de Descanso) constructed from disused shipping containers.
STUDIOROCA designed the line of prefabricated homes to provide a “no-fuss, low-cost building solution,” outfitting the exterior and interior with environmentally friendly materials and smart home automation systems. Tracing the interior’s open layout, each one-bedroom shipping container provides an open-plan kitchenette, a dining area, and living space on one end, then a bathroom and storage space can be found in the middle, whereas the bedroom finds privacy on its own end.
The distinguishable corrugated siding on the shipping container’s exterior is constructed from black Hunter Douglass Quadroline aluminum, which merges into gray Valchromat Viroc cement-bonded particle board, giving the home a rich, industrial look amidst natural surroundings. Constructed to last, the exterior of VMD shipping containers is resistant against water and fire, non-toxic, thermally insulating, and sound-dampening, providing a quiet, safe retreat.
Following a minimal-impact assembly process, each shipping container from STUDIOROCA’s VMD line is constructed in an offsite factory over the span of three months to be installed within a time frame of only seven days. While each prefab home can be customized to fit the taste of each client, they also come with preset elements.
The flooring, for instance, comes from FSC-certified engineered oak and each home comes equipped with smart home appliances. After choosing between a 320-square-foot one-bedroom home, 640-square-foot two-bedroom home, or a 640-square-foot three-bedroom home, clients can add on elements like an outdoor deck and off-grid capacities.
Designer: STUDIOROCA
