Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

Arts & Entertainment

New In Williamsburg: Shipping Container Housing


By

Ben Muessig

Published Jan 13, 2010

Modified Jan 13, 2010


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

images via Google Maps and Curbed

 


By

Ben Muessig

Published Jan 13, 2010

Modified Jan 13, 2010


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Why live in a Bushwick trailer park when you can live in a Williamsburg shipping container? The folks over at Curbed say shipping container architecture is a "Bigfoot" in the city's development circles, meaning it's "endlessly discussed yet rarely seen." Though it's been used in commercial applications — like the modular Subway sandwich shop installed atop a crane at the World Trade Center site — this narrow two-family home at 351 Keap Street in Williamsburg might be the city's first residential use of the environmentally-friendly, cost-conscious building material. Back in 2008, the Office of Emergency Management held a contest to design temporary housing for the thousands of New Yorkers who might be displaced in the event of a catastrophe, like a direct hit from a Category 3 hurricane. Most of those designs utilized shipping containers, so these Keap Street residents aren't just setting trends, they're braced for the end of days!

Tagged

351 keap street

architecture

construction

container

development

housing

shipping container

williamsburg


Ben Muessig

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


MORE arts-entertainment

'You Can See Everything' … as long as you go to Staten Island

Nathan Fielder’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary has been selling out across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Tickets to see the film, however, are very much available in other boroughs.

By

Sonia Rao

Published Oct 27, 2026 at 11:18 a.m. ET


Inside the hidden chamber that controls Lincoln Center's magnificent fountain

Gothamist went behind the scenes to learn how the NYC landmark keeps its majestic waters flowing.

By

Sonia Rao

Arts & Entertainment

Inside the hidden chamber that controls Lincoln Center's magnificent fountain

Gothamist went behind the scenes to learn how the NYC landmark keeps its majestic waters flowing.

By

Sonia Rao


In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff

By

James Ramsay

A Queens prop shop shutters, bunnies find a home uptown, and more openings and closings

By

Hannah Frishberg

A new film invites you to eavesdrop on one of the greatest conversations in NYC history

By

Sonia Rao


Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .