“Maybe home is somewhere I’m going and never have been before.”
– Warsan Shire
Mr. Dirch Olsen has been in the container industry since 1981 and is one of the directors of SA Container Park, a highly successful company that has been in operation for 20 years and has branches all over South Africa. After 42 years of transporting, converting, leasing, and selling containers, Mr. Olsen is finally realising his dream of building his own container home.
Containers have given Mr. Olsen his livelihood for many years, and what better way is there to express his gratitude than by making them a part of his own home? Planning for the building began four years ago, and the house is expected to be finished in Spring 2023.
The fourth-floor apartment that Mr. Olsen currently lives in is a convenient lock-up-and-go home in the heart of the city, and could not be more different from his planned new container house, aptly dubbed ‘Olsen House’.
Olsen House will be constructed from 2 twelve-metre containers and 3 six-metre containers, with the spaces between the containers incorporated into the final design. The design is open and airy, and far more spacious than Mr. Olsen’s city apartment.
The land on which Olsen House will be constructed is a lush stand within a security village. The land is large enough to accommodate a few small game animals, and the area is surrounded by natural grasslands that are home to wildlife such as bush babies, tortoises, and genets. Two nearby hills provide shelter for the location, and the Sesmylspruit river can be seen babbling past, on its way to Rietvlei Dam.
It is fitting that the very first structure to be erected on the Olsen House property is a container converted for use as a shed and workshop. It has been outfitted with lights, electrical points, and automatic doors, and the muted grey colour scheme blends seamlessly with the lichen-covered trees around it.
In this peaceful location, it is easy to imagine Mr. Olsen sipping a beer on the porch of a newly-built container house, relaxing away from the city’s noise while he looks out over his vegetable garden, a dog asleep at his feet.
Once the construction of Olsen House has been completed, this will become a reality, but the journey to get there will not be without its challenges. Follow along as each chapter of the construction process is documented here, and become part of the journey!
“The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”
– Maya Angelou