Floating Dorms

In major cities around the world, student housing is getting more expensive–and less available. One fix: ditch the traditional house altogether. Danish startup Urban Rigger teamed up with architect Bjarke Ingels to design a series of floating dorms, all made from recycled shipping containers. The first, which opened in Copenhagen in September, contains 15 studio apartments, each with its own bedroom, kitchen and bathroom; rent is $600 a month, considerably less than other local offerings. Next up: a 24-unit complex in Sweden. Ingels has said the approach could eventually be applied to refugee housing.

–Julia Zorthian