When the term “shipping containers” comes up, what do you envision? Enormous steel boxes that transport vast quantities of goods and cargo, right?
That was their previous primary purpose, but this is not the case anymore. People are repurposing them now for a variety of structures.
Ten years ago, people began using transport containers as houses. This has become an affordable alternative to traditional homes for families with a low-maintenance lifestyle. Compared to regular houses, these are also more eco-friendly.
But there’s more to intermodal containers than meets the eye. Various countries around the world are continuing to innovate on other purposeful uses of these steel boxes.
Entrepreneurs are also setting their sights on repurposing shipping containers. Because they look for innovative materials, these containers may just be the affordable tools they need.
Social Use
Recently, more businesses are realizing that they exist not only for profit. They see their role as catalysts that can help improve the society we all live in. Evidence of this is the large investments they make in their corporate social responsibility departments.
They are also at the forefront of recycling shipping containers in innovative ways. Some have used them to provide housing for the poor. Others repurpose them to serve students so they can have dorm-like accommodations. It is cheaper to add fixtures to them than build mass housing from scratch.
In 2017, architecture companies More and Poggi showed the potential of using shipping containers in social housing. The project provided 30 flats to the needy in Western France. It was such a huge success that it spawned similar efforts in other parts of the world. The unique thing about this initiative was its beauty. It also blended well with the environment.
They designed and tailored the container boxes to meet the specific needs of residents. Because these were homes for actual people, they also factored in privacy. The design protected residents from direct view of people outside.
Another key aspect of the houses was the provision of abundant natural light. This way, residents will still feel that they are in an open space that is not too restricting.
Due to its affordability, the vision for the project is to inspire more housing like this. This could be a game-changer and provide shelter for homeless people in different countries.
Another example is the educational cinema installed by Scott Whitby Studio in the UK. They designed and built a mobile pop-up screening room. In it, they showed an engaging movie on best practices in workplace behaviour.
Using foam pyramids, they converted the interiors into a space conducive to learning. They shut out all light and sound from the outside to help the workers concentrate on the presentation.
Office Use
Due to the global pandemic, a logical next step for businesses is to design more efficient home offices. They can do this for themselves and their most trusted associates.
A home office has several advantages
- No need to commute to work and experience traffic
- Will save on transportation and gas costs
- Better work-life balance
- More quality time to spend with the family
- Freedom to work
- Privacy
Shipping containers provide the best infrastructure for remote workplaces. Entrepreneurs can design them as a permanent structure that they can access from their homes. Another option is to make them an office that one can load onto the back of a truck and transport to a new site.
Depending on one’s needs, a steel container office can be small or large. If a business needs a room for a simple office set-up, they can opt for 20-foot containers. If one is looking for a space that can fit large meetings with many teams, a 40-foot container will be more suitable.
Some may argue that common workspaces already exist, providing convenient alternatives to entrepreneurs. But, not everyone lives in central business districts. There is still a huge advantage to a business owner having his/her own working space. One can arrange the office any way s/he wants. S/he can also install all the office equipment needed to help make work more efficient. One can also have privacy, unlike in public workplaces. With an extra budget, it will be easy to install a kitchen, toilet, and bathroom.
Steel containers are flexible and can be modified. They can also be easily stored and transported using a reliable sea container transport company in Bunbury. Depending on one’s needs, here are among the options for builders: