The shipping container as we know it was developed by Malcolm McLean in the 1950s. It standardized global cargo shipping and made the industry more efficient. A whole slew of different people noticed them and had other ideas. The big sturdy boxes showed up for different purposes in trade shows, in fiction, and in war. And, of course, by people who saw the possibility of living in them. Read how shipping containers went through these iterations on the way to becoming an eco-friendly building material for both emergency shelter and high-end architecture at Housely.