Shipping Containers in Disguise
We have been looking at how shipping containers make good homes and so today I thought that it would be fun if we had a look at some of the more eclectic uses that shipping containers have been put to.
Adam Kalkin’s developed the absolutely amazing concept above showing what can be done with shipping containers. It was originally used in Italy at the 52nd Venice Biennial as a coffee stand by Illy but has subsequently traveled to the USA and elsewhere where it always makes an impact! Not many cargo containers are able to do this at the touch of a button!
At the other end of the scale - at least technologically speaking - we have an example of a high rise building in Zürich which looks exactly like what it is - 17 old and rusty cargo containers.
The company has a strong ecological product ethos and so have used a shipping container conversion to make their 85ft high Freitag Shop. It is connected by staircases and has a viewing platform at the top.
But shipping containers of whatever size don’t have to always be converted into anything quite as spectacular as the examples pictured above. They are often found in much more everyday settings. Our local garage has converted a 40 foot ISO container into a car wash which works very well. Simon, our website guy, was out and about this weekend when he spotted this 20 foot shipping container providing shelter and security for a cash machine. Thank you to him for taking a photo with his mobile!
But let us not forget the more everyday cargo container conversions. These include chemical stores, refrigerated containers, smoking shelters, insulated containers, recording studios, tack rooms, p.e. equipment stores, offices, classrooms, roadside cafes, mess rooms and canteens to name but a few!
So, from the extraordinary to the everyday shipping containers can provide solutions on many different levels as a ecologically friendly, adaptable and highly transportable option for whatever conversion you are considering.






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