Most of us don’t think about shipping containers unless we work in logistics. They have been steadily making their way into the architectural world.
Their low cost and ambulatory nature make them appropriate in a variety of contexts, such as upscale housing and small workplaces or getaways.
Container architecture is being configured everywhere. Recycled freight containers bring efficiency, flexibility and affordability to innovative green buildings, from small vacation cabins to movable cafes, schools and skyscrapers.
Invented more than five decades ago, the modern shipping container is our resource for global distribution of products. Carrying everything from toys to perishable goods to any location-all over the world.
While people have been using these containers for shelters (disaster relief/temporary dwellings) for years, architects and green designers are increasingly turning to these strong, cheap boxes as building blocks.
They are readily modified with a range of creative comforts, and can be connected and stacked to create modular, efficient spaces for a fraction of the cost.
The creativity of these spaces emerges with the challenge of fitting design into a box, quite literally.It's safe to say that designers are thinking inside the box.
