Shipping Containers (Inspirations & Ideas)

Mill Junction Student Housing (Johannesburg, South Africa) The developers at Citiq decided to one-up anybody reclaiming and reusing building material by fashioning an 11-story dorm out of shipping containers and abandoned grain silos. This colorful space near the city’s central business district accommodates nearly 400 students in a mish-mash of metal shapes. Photo by Citiq

New Jerusalem Orphanage (Johannesburg, South Africa) 4D and A Architects used more than two dozen containers to help give this institution a more expansive, and inexpensive, home. Beyond the incredible service this structure provides, the use of space and the varied angles of each container give it a compelling modernist look. Photo by Dennis Guichard

Bharathi Research Station (Antarctica) Resembling a space station from a vintage ‘60s sci-fi film, this incredible creation by Germany’s BOF Architects inhabits another extreme environment, a coastal hillside on the bottom of the globe. Built to house researchers from India, this structure is easily removable to lessen environmental impact. Photo by BOF Architects

Shipping Container Home (Brisbane, Australia) Architect and designer Todd Miller didn’t just use a shipping container for this home—it appears like he used an entire shipping company, since it took 31 containers to build this industrial but inviting home, which features a massive graffiti mural on the back wall. Photo by ZieglerBuild

This three-bedroom home in Lille, France, is made up of eight stacked containers.

“We talked about creating a sense of mystery when [guests] walked in from the street,” says Christopher. A gate swings open on a steel bar-stock frame to reveal a courtyard and the dining room beyond.

In the living room, mid-century classics are the foundation while art from the house’s “coming out” party by Enrique Ciapara adds some personality.

Muuto Under the Bell pendant lights are made from recycled plastic felt, which helps absorb noise and improve acoustics—a key feature in the open office.

To make the space feel brighter, all of the walls—even bricks—are painted white, which contrasts with the raw brick ceiling and original brown tile floors. The Recast Plus sofa bed, with a pink hue that echoes the brick ceiling, is from Innovation Living. The blown-glass Gordiola pendants are a design the resident saw in a Mallorca hotel that Bloomint designed.

Krzentowski claims a rare pair of 1952 Paulin chairs for Muebles T.V. are the origin for the design of his famous Ribbon chair. Ron Arad’s Rolling Volume makes for dubious seating.

Fun 10DM Pendant Light in brass

Fun 0DM Pendant Light

Living Area Bischoff’s team retained the exposed brick on the interior, painting much of it white to help the space reflect sunlight. “There was an interest in having an open, more contemporary layout, but we still wanted some sense of living in this building that’s 100 years old,” Bischoff says. “That motivated us a lot to keep the brick. It’s a very subtle echo of what the house originally was.” Enclosing the ductwork would have forced the architects to lower the ceiling or install a subpar air-conditioning system. So it was left exposed, contributing to the floor’s loftlike atmosphere. New meets old with the furnishings as well: An antique barbershop pendant provides contrast to a sculptural lamp and a rug from Anthropologie. Investment buys were made with budget in mind, like the leather sofa scored at ABC Carpet & Home’s outlet store.

“Instead of extending the new living area from the existing house, we decided to build a stand-alone structure off the front house and connect the two spaces with a central passageway,” Ong says. This made the back of the home distinctive from the Edwardian front. Recyled brick was used to create the connecting hallway.

Peeling back plaster and drywall they unearthed beautiful brick walls. They opted to leave them exposed, letting light from the street and a wall of rough-hewn red brick warm up the large living rooms and kitchens. Mazza's living room sofa is from Crate and Barrel.

For another residence in Turkey, the pair used brass and leather as luxurious counterpoints to whitewashed brick.