A look inside Joburg’s new R4,900 a month container homes

A new urban development using upcycled ISO shipping containers has launched in Johannesburg’s Maboneng precinct, bringing affordable housing to the mixed-space area that is often used as the poster-child for recapturing the heart of South Africa’s biggest city.

The development, called Drivelines Studios, is the latest in a growing trend to repurpose shipping containers for livability. While most of these projects are sold as ‘modular homes’ (with prices starting as low as R120,000), Driveline marks a first, as a multistorey apartment block made up of multiple containers.

The project was launched in 2014, led by Propertuity and designed by Lot-Ek Architects, and was completed and opened for occupation in September 2017.

It is a mixed-use residential and retail building developed over an existing single story structure, previously a car repair shop.

Drive Lines Concept

Drive Lines Completed

Drive Lines Inside

Read: What it is like to live inside a R200,000 South African container home