Shipping Containers Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Olympics’

Here at CS Shippng Containers we have been missing the Olympics. Susan, who handles the logistics side of the business has, in particular, been missing the swimming. So, at coffee we got talking about the recent posts we have filed about shipping containers being converted into all sorts of amazing things and linked it to the upcoming 2012 Olympics in London.

Apart from her talents in keeping calm and organising everybody so your cargo containers get to where they are meant to, on time and in the right conditition, Susan is an amazing artist. It didn’t take her long to come up with these 3 simple and fun ideas.

OK. We admit none of this is very likely, but it does make the point that, as our previous posts show, 20ft or 40ft containers are very versatile - not only as a source of inspiration for Susan!

The Travelodge hotel in Uxbridge opened for business on August 15th. It was put together in record time and cost only 75% of a traditional construction.

The difference? It was put together from purpose made modular shipping containers which were shipped over from Shenzen in China to England, and then fitted together in a framework to form the hotel.

Shipping Containers are ideal for conversion into living space and the fact that they are easily transportable means that they create the minimum of disturbance to the existing infrastructure. But do we have to have containers especially made and shipped over from China when there are tens of thousands of good quality used shipping containers already in England just waiting to be converted?

Modern methods of insulation, ventilation and finishes mean that many options are now available to make the most out of the existing cargo containers we have in Britain. Surely this something we could be capitalising on in preparation for the Olympics where we will need additional accommodation quickly and cheaply?

But why wait until then? What about the nurses, doctors, firemen, policemen and teachers who all need affordable accommodation that is close to where they work? Wouldn’t accommodation made from shipping containers provide an affordable solution?

These are made of numbers of shipping containers, either 20ft or 40ft, often piled up 5 or 6 high and used as either windbreaks, enclosures or even as giant advertising hoardings.

Recently, the film Gulliver’s Travels, which is being made at Pinewood Studios, used over 80 second hand shipping containers - both 20ft and 40ft - to form a backdrop.   Covered with green cloth, the shipping containers were cheaper to use, and quicker to assemble , than the more conventional scaffolding.  

The world of drama often uses shipping containers, indeed the second series of the highly popular drama “The Wire” as based around the freight port in Baltimore.  Closer to home “Dr Who” has used shipping containers.

We have also got used to seeing walls of containers used as advertising hoardings.  Companies all across the UK are using the walls to promote their profile - often using additional container doors set into the back of the wall of containers so that they can be used for traditional storage as well.

Today is the European Team Championships for the world of athletics.  The stadium in Leira, Portugal, although traditionally constructed, is brightly coloured and made me think of shipping containers.     With the approach of the 2012 olympics maybe we should consider using shipping containers to quickly form stadiums for our athletes to practice in.   Obviously this could be taken up to the ultimate level with shipping containers converted into actual stands of seating, but at their simplest  they would provide the ideal windbreak.

Shipping Container Walls maybe the most basic of  “conversions” but they certainly have their uses!

CS Shipping Containers are absolutely delighted that the Aces Basketball Team based at Stoke Mandeville have asked them for a bespoke shipping container to house their specially adapted wheelchairs when not in use.

The team have chosen a 20ft container to have an extra wide door with a ramp to make accessibility for the wheelchairs as easy as possible. The specially angled wheels are slanted for stability, manouevrability and speed so that the games are fast and furious.

Their coach, who has been out to Beijing this year, is hopeful that some of the members of the Aces will be able to take part in the London Olympics 2012!

We can’t wait to take another photograph when the shipping container store is in use in about a month’s time - and hopefully stay and watch the Aces in a match so we can cheer them on!!

We have been talking about how strong and adaptable shipping containers can be as a housing resource, and, given how quickly they can be utilised into buildings at moderate cost, that they could provide an answer to producing accommodation in the light of the 2012 Olympics or even as much needed usable space in inner cities.
All very well, but who, in their right mind, would want to live or work in what are, after all, essentially metal boxes?  Hopefully, this Post, will make you look at shipping containers in a totally different way by illustrating projects that have already been completed in London itself.
The pictures below show Cargo City, which provides a mix of living and work accommodation that made out of shipping containers and blend in perfectly to the industrial, urban environment of London’s Docklands – well known for its shipping heritage

The first phase was completed in 5 months in 2001.  Over 80% of the buildings were created from recycled material. It was so successful that in 2002 a second phase was completed with inter-connecting bridges, a new lift and full disabled access.
But why stop at just using shipping containers as living spaces when community projects can also see the benefits?

Above is the Mile End Youth Centre, completed in 2003 and made out of 7 used storage containers.  It provides a cost effective solution to providing facilities for public use that might otherwise have been unaffordable.
Businesses are also using shipping containers – in this case 73 – to provide office accommodation

This is Riverside Building – which I am not sure that I would even recognise from a casual glance as being built from shipping containers in the first place!  Built in 2005, this building was able to slot into a site that provides amazing views across the Thames.
Quite amazing what those metal boxes can be turned into with a little imagination – and if you had problems visualising  yourself living or working in one – well, I hope this Post has helped.

All the Container Housing examples here were developed by Urban Site Management Ltd.

Yesterday we talked about shipping containers being used to provide accommodation for the Olympics – and by this I mean housing for either the athletes or the influx of tourists that 2012 is bound to bring.

I have been asked just how shipping containers could provide an answer when they are effectively just boxes!?

The fact that the containers themselves are made for industrial use means that they are extremely strong structurally and are in building block size being typically 20ft or 40ft long, 8ft wide and 8ft 6inches high.

If you imagine them as rather like a child’s building set then you can start to see them either joined to one another to create a series of rooms or stacked on top of each other to create lofts and multi storied buildings.

Put these within a rigid framework like the Travelodge in Uxbridge and you have an extremely flexible system that, with the addition of electricity, plumbing and heating mean that all of our modern day needs can be catered for.

If the industrial look of shipping containers does not appeal, then they can be clad in a huge variety of materials ranging from wood to render to suit the location of the elements.  Add windows, doors and maybe even balconies and the shipping containers are totally transformed.

There are examples of completed projects throughout the world.  From Container City in London – right in the centre of London’s Docklands which might be of special interest to our Olympic organizers – to housing projects in Australia.

Given the speed with which they can be set up, the relatively low impact on the surrounding environment – not to mention the green credentials of re-using an industrial product, there is a lot going for shipping containers that have been converted for use as accommodation.