Top 10 Innovative Ways to Use Modular Shipping Container | LOTUS Containers

Though shipping containers are extensively being used by the shipping companies for the storage & transportation of goods from one location to another, their uses have incredibly increased in the construction field as well. After journeying the seven seas for years, they are finding second lives as an affordable green building material. It may sound a bit eye-raising but the fact has intrigued big chunks of people around the world. The modular shipping containers that were primarily used only for storage and shipment are now tremendously being hired for building shipping container homes, saunas, classrooms, hostels, bridges, swimming pools, mobile modular office trailers, stores, and innumerable things. You may wonder how!

But their use as building materials has grown in popularity over the past few years because of their stiffness, durability, affordability, and wide availability. The other reason for supporting its use as a building material is its environmental friendliness. The statement has been contradicted by many experts saying that most of the cargotecture companies prefer new shipping containers for building than the used ones. But there are still many cargotectures who ace in refurbishing old used shipping containers into beautiful buildings for residences, workplaces, and entertainment purposes.

Why do they work as a wonderful alternative to building materials?

• Easy to dismantle, model, and reassemble

• No civil foundation needed

• Durable and strong to withstand the extreme climatic condition

• Proper insulation makes it Weatherproof, Waterproof, and leak proof

• Possibility for all modern fixings like AC, Geyser, Smoke Detector, etc.

Some of the mesmerizing and innovative building solutions of modular shipping containers

Homes

While thinking of building a home what generally comes to mind are –bricks, cement, iron bars, etc. Nowhere shipping containers find their existence. So where does the idea originated from? The idea evolved when Philip Clark, a US resident filed a patent of ‘converting shipping boxes into a habitable building’ in the year 1987. He outlined in the patent all the useful information that how a steel box can be refurbished into a beautiful home. It was since then; freight containers are extremely being used to construct homes with perfect modifications and eye-pleasing designs. ‘PV14 House’ in Texas is one of the stunning houses built in 3,700 square feet by using 14 containers that has caught the great attention of people aspiring to own a container-built house. 

Offices

Shipping containers are blank canvases that are refurbished to construct all types of structures, including commercial office buildings and spaces. While building an open bay office from a single box is quite common, many more companies have now stretched the limits and look forward to buying and leasing modular office trailers and buildings as well. Container built office is also a profound option for the emerging entrepreneurs who do not want to spend much on renting or buying a brick-made office space. Also, space constraints are a major issue in many parts of the world, and modular shipping containers have been effectively used to tackle this issue.

Swimming Pool

Ever thought how cool it would be to have a pool in your courtyard! It is not an astonishing fact anymore as the shipping boxes are enormously being converted into a stunning swimming pool. Without any digging and civil construction, 20ft shipping containers and 40ft shipping containers can easily be dropped on your location and can be modified as a pool within a day. The best thing is that they are portable, environment- friendly and cost-effective.

Shop and Stores

There are many companies that give previously dull-looking containers a fresh and stunning look by building small shops and long-laying mega stores. From pedaling ice cream to hawkers selling households, these boxes have been refurbished to beautifully serve retailing needs. The size, strength, and strapping nature of cargo containers makes them ideal for roadside shops and stalls & even large shopping malls. One of the best examples is the world’s largest mall built from 200 shipping containers in Korea lying in 5300 square meters.

Bridges

The Idea of building bridges from large corrugated steel containers came to light when architects from Yoav Messer proposed their 525 feet-long bridge design connecting Lod Road to the Arial Sharon National park in Israel. The proposal states that the construction will be followed by using recycled shipping containers supporting pedestrian and lightweight vehicles. Some of the features like- low-cost, durability, robustness, ease to set up and its environment-friendliness make it ideal to construct bridges.

Schools and Hostels

Thinking of container-built schools and hostels may not give a pleasing visualization. But some cargotecture companies have made it possible to build bigger, spacious, and usable schools and hostels with an attractive look and feel infrastructure. Various schools are finding it a good option to construct classrooms out of storage boxes. The biggest advantage associated with this is whenever the school wants to relocate or shift they can easily bring the buildings along with them. The Shooter Hill Campus and Horniman School stand well to display how perfectly classrooms can be extracted out of them. The Dock Inn in Germany stands well to be a wonderful example of a quirky accommodation option. The hostel has 64 rooms giving space to at least 188 people to reside. What can be more creative, affordable, and cost-effective than this!

Emergency Hospitals

Ever heard of the term ‘Clinic in a Can’? It’s been years that portable storage containers are hugely being used for the construction of emergency hospitals or small clinical spaces. These emergency hospitals being portable acts as a true lifesaver as they can be carried and transported to any place. Similar to the ambulance, they are widely used during the time of contingencies such as wars, accidents, natural disasters, etc. when people need the instant hospital to deal with injuries. There comes the enormous use of portable emergency hospitals.

Disco & Bars

Cargo Containers have also found great acceptance among the disco, bar-loving, and pop-hopping crowd. The concept is so simple, a truck brings up a few modular shipping containers and drops-off at your desired location. With the effort of a sharp-handed architecture and designer, they can instantly be constructed as a night club. A pop-up shipping container nightclub will really give you a ‘wow’ factor with its luxuriousness at any event.

Sauna

How about building a small sauna for you in the corner of your house or the garden? Squeezing foam balls doesn’t always help everyone relieve stress, to the people who love to spend their quality time in peace.  Container-built saunas could be the best option for them. Constructed from recycled cargo containers, it can be easily available at cheap negotiable prices with unique designs.

Gymnasium

If you’re planning to open a gym or a sports center but do not have enough money to buy or rent space- then this one is for you. 20ft and 40ft modular shipping containers make the perfect solution for a gym as they are portable, customizable, and cost-effective. By properly refurbishing it with locking facilities and other modifications, it can give you a perfect place to carry your workouts and run your gym business without making a big investment.

No doubt, container-aided construction has gone just beyond the imagination. Cargotecture professionals can now build anything coming to mind out of portable storage shipping containers. The trend is spreading at a great pace around the world where every day thousands of orders are received and finalized to construct buildings from containers. If you are also in the row and looking for shipping containers in California, Houston, Texas,  and other parts of the USA, then there is no point to delay. Hire brand new or old containers from a profound shipping container company like LOTUS Containers and contact your architecture team to build one for you.