lancer / Thank you for the interest, you are right these homes are based off the frame of a sdartand trailer, Therefore a lot of emphasis and design has gone into making them structural against the elements. Shipping containers on the other hand can be transported by truck, plane, and ship and are capable of handling the elements as they are. Now in order to make them inhabitable you need to start puncturing the skin allowing for windows, doors, vents, etc. each one these cuts decrease the overall structural capacity of the container. In saying this, there are ways to position the cuts to minimize the effects they have on its integrity and limit the need for extra structural members. There actually have not been many test performed on projects considered experimental structures over the years. There is also a lack in performance studies on how well sustainable features are actually performing in homes and buildings across the country. We have been very quick as a nation to fund unproven features that could be deemed worthless over the next few years. I agree it would be great to have the chance to test these ideas and how they hold up in comparison to conventional construction methods. There could become a new sdartand, I mean who deemed conventional construction the norm to begin with? Should it be?