Photo via Balin Overstolz McNair
By Balin Overstolz McNair | KTAR
PHOENIX — Valley nonprofit St. Vincent de Paul can now give 20 individuals experiencing homelessness their own dorm-style rooms at a shelter near downtown Phoenix thanks to an innovative style of housing that utilizes shipping containers.
The “XWing” structure is a new approach to adding temporary housing and bolstering shelter space in Phoenix by creating housing out of the containers.
Developed by Arizona-based metal fabrication company Steel and Spark, a single XWing unit is made up of four shipping containers joined together in an “X” shape with each containing either single or double rooms.
The exact configuration can be customized based on the need. They are also fully “off the grid,” meaning they maintain their own solar electrical supply and air conditioning.
That also means there’s no hooking up to water or electrical lines. So as long as the containers can physically fit, the utilities in the area are of much less concern than other housing options.
