The Coolest Steel Buildings Projects We’ve Seen

When you sell steel buildings, you get to see a lot of very cool projects featuring – what else but steel buildings? The vast majority of steel buildings sold are built for very prosaic reasons – largely as garages, garden storage and retail space – but there are also many unusual and unexpected projects featuring a steel building at their bases. These are a few of our favorites.

Urban Chicken Coops

As the urban survivalist trend takes hold, cities across the U.S. are adjusting their zoning statutes to allow city residents to keep chickens within the city limits. If you’re going to raise chickens, you need somewhere to keep the chickens. At the University of Colorado, a grad student developed a very cool urban chicken coop design based on a modification of Quonset steel buildings. They feature half-walls and screened bottoms to allow for good air circulation and are turning into a very popular use for steel buildings.

Steel Homes

Living in a steel building? Why not? As people look for affordable alternatives to traditional home construction, they’ve stepped beyond shipping containers and double-wides to steel building kits. A typical steel building kit can be erected for less than half the cost of a traditional home, and offers amazing flexibility in design.

Rain and Sun Shelter

Free-grazing livestock sometimes need a little extra feed and water, or just a place to get in out of the hot sun or pouring rain. One enterprising small farmer put up an arch frame metal building – with no foundation, no floor and no back or front walls. The end result? A sheltered area where his goats and sheep can grab a bit of shade and enjoy a cool drink of water on hot days, or get in out of storms when the rain comes pouring down.

Winter Beach Volleyball

Who doesn’t love a good game of volleyball on the beach? If you live in the northern half of the country, beach volleyball is typically a very seasonal activity – that is, until a pair of clever, sand-loving entrepreneurs decided that they shouldn’t have to wait until June to play their favorite sport. They purchased a steel building, erected it over a sand floor, added some sun lamps and a volleyball net and – voila! Instant volleyball court.

Of course, steel buildings make great garages, storage sheds, home offices and home additions, but it’s always fun to see what folks do with a metal building kit and a little inspiration.