Quick, efficient and affordable, the concept of future occupancy in each country

Shipping container homes are starting to pop up in Kelowna and the growing trend could be a winning solution to Kelowna?s lack of housing issue.
A company called Honomobo launched in Kelowna just over a year ago and have quickly expanded across North America.
The entire concept behind the company is turning old shipping containers into beautiful living, work or play spaces.

The idea initially came from Devon Siebenga, whose family owns BigSteelBox, and his brother-in-law Daniel Engelman, who was previously running a company that custom designed modern infill homes.

The two were chatting about the challenges of infill construction in urban centres and as they went back and forth they landed on the idea behind Honomobo.
?We figured we would launch a company that addresses densification, as well as just construction of homes in a simpler and more efficient way,? Siebenga told KelownaNow. ?All of our homes are solar ready, highly efficient, very modern and can be built in 10-12 weeks.?

The construction timeline starts with the planning, which includes placement on your property, figuring out what unit is best suited for that property and then putting together the final design.

Siebenga says that there are set, templated designs, but those can be made into a number of different sizes and configurations to best fit the property.
Honomobo also puts together a permit drawing package for you to submit to the city for zoning purposes, but with new bylaws essentially removing the development permit stage for carriage homes, that process is a quick one.

?That means it goes right into building permit and for us, because it?s an assembly they?re familiar with, we got our permit within 10 days,? Siebenga said, referring to a property in West Kelowna that was currently putting in a shipping container home. ?As quick as we could build the foundation, we were able to install the home.?
Beyond the planning on site, most of the build time happens in Honomobo?s climate controlled facility before being trucked out to the property and installed in less than a week.
Once installed, the home is fixed to a foundation, but can be moved if necessary, giving it another advantage.
According to Siebenga, the homes are extremely energy efficient and it?s not as if it sticks out as being a modular container.

?It just happens to be built in a factory because it?s more efficient,? he explained. ?We do embrace the container as a part of our building material, but we?ve added a lot of other elements in terms of wood soffit, floor to ceiling glass and a lot of windows, which sort of breaks it up and puts everything together.?


Along with that kind of customization that makes these former shipping containers into a home, there?s also a lot of options when it comes to size.

?We?ve got models starting at 200 square feet and we?ve got some newer models coming out that are just under 1,500 square feet,? said Siebenga. ?So you can have a small home or essentially a full-sized home.?

The homes range in price based on size, starting at $50k and getting all the way up to $220k for the biggest and best models, with the popular H04+ model going for $180 per square foot.

In comparison, The Stockwell Downtown, which is nearly completed on Richter Street and Stockwell Avenue, has a cost of around $450 per square foot.


That even includes two story homes or add-ons on top of an already existing garage.

For residents looking to add a carriage home to their property, a shipping container home provides a flexible option that can produce a lot of benefits.

?You could have a swing set or you could have an extra home,? Siebenga said. ?From personal experience, we put one in our backyard, and it basically pays our mortgage.?


If you?re not looking for an extra living space on your property, these shipping containers can also act as great offices or workspaces as well.

KelownaNow will be doing a video feature on these shipping container homes before the end of May and Honomobo will be hosting an open house in Kelowna in June, but the date hasn?t yet been announced.