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Enterprising individuals have successfully converted these big steel containers into office or retail spaces worldwide.
For instance, in Le Havre, France, shipping containers were converted into Cité A Docks, a 100-apartment complex for students. Each unit is equipped with a bathroom, kitchen, and Wi-Fi access.
Cité A Docks, Le Havre
Something similar has been done in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. A lot of students struggle to find an apartment for a rent they can afford. To accommodate these students, the local government started the Keetwonen project and had an impressive number of shipping container homes built. As a matter of fact, with 1,000 homes it is the world’s largest container campus for students.
Keetwonen Project, Amsterdam
Meanwhile, in the United States, retailer Puma converted 24 shipping containers into a three-level, 11,000-square foot store and event venue. Dubbed as Puma City, the travelling store was completed in 2008 by the LOT-EK architectural firm, and has made stops in many cities.
Puma City
In a review of the Puma City concept store, Olivia Chen of Inhabitat.com wrote: “While the structure of the shipping containers is evident in the multiple frames created by the knocking down of the shipping containers’ walls, the open and well-lit environment makes the industrial aesthetic seem almost intentional. Additionally, built-in details, such as the two decks located on the upper floors and recessed lighting, gives the store a greater sense a permanence and less like a prefabricated structure that can simply be folded up and moved.”
And finally, in Christchurch, New Zealand, a pop-up mall made from shipping containers was created after the 2011 earthquake in the city. Dubbed as Restart the Heart, the mall project made use of 60 shipping containers housing 27 shops.
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Re:START mall, Christchurch
The Re:START mall project was initially envisioned to be a temporary retail space after the earthquake damaged much of the City Mall, but has become very popular among locals and tourists alike and it remains in business until today.
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With the use of shipping containers becoming more and more mainstream for retail, office, and residences in many areas of the world, perhaps you are looking into this option as well.
Refurbishing shipping containers definitely offers a lot of flexibility and innovative design options for your home. Let’s take a closer look at the advantages of converting these containers into residential units in the next chapter.
