Right now, Imouto House looks like a stack of shipping containers that somebody took a cutting torch to. That’s because it is exactly that; Vancouver’s first recycled shipping container based housing project will create 12 units of housing for Atira Women’s Resource Society. Imouto will in part provide housing for women aged 55+ living in shelters or SRO rooms. Imouto is the Japanese word for “little sister”and was chosen because the building in located in Japantown, kitty corner from the Vancouver Japanese Language School.

The first containers were lifted into position in late November, and the Barry McGinn designed project is expected to complete for April 1st after a week-long open house for the public. Each unit will be 320 sq ft, with its own kitchen, bathroom and laundry, and construction is quite a bit cheaper than traditional methods coming in at under $100,000 a unit.