Shipping Container Conversions

Shipping Container Conversions What You Need To Know

Shipping Container Conversions

Creating a shipping container home requires preparation just as if you were going to build any new home.

Shipping containers make excellent building structures for a variety of reasons. One of which is the abundance and relative cost of purchasing your container. From a logistical view it is often cheaper for global shipping companies to use the container once say from the Asia to Europe and then buy new containers in the Asia rather than send a ship back to Asia with a cargo of empty containers.

Whilst individual planning restrictions and codes vary from country to country and depend much on the individual planning department you are dealing with there are however a list of individual factors to take into account.

Purpose of your shipping container conversion

You could have have many motivations for building a container structure, the majority of modern builds and either residential or commercial.

A patent was granted to Philip C Clark in 1989 for the building of a container home patent number 4854094. In 2006 the first container home appeared in the U.S, built by Peter DeMaria which complied with strict building codes. Since that time a whole host of container conversions have appeared across the world. Including the View tube project for the Olympic games in London.

Just look at the various Container City projects in London and the U.K to see how shipping containers are helping to redefine not only the urban landscape but also the way we look at building materials.

Most often residential conversions are part of a drive to create sustainable and recycled living spaces. You will no doubt have a vision of what you would like the end product – the container home to look like.

Selecting an architect and designer for your container home

No home in the U.K can be built without a set of plans and blueprints. Consult with your local authority planning department right from the outset for guidance. This post gives a general overview of planning issues. Just remember that each planning office and application is individual so there are few generic rules to go by.

For advice with selecting a designer and architect call us on 0800 567 0077, visit our container conversion page for more information.

Building a container conversion home or commercial structure

A container in general is a very versatile building unit the individual components which make up the container as easily disassembled, meaning larger structures can be created from the individual units.

Lashing bars and posts are used to secure the basic container structure, most often the door assembly will need to be removed. Correct treatment of the interior surfaces to ensure effective insulation and sealing of the container structure are also important. Spray foam insulation is becoming an increasingly popular way of achieving this.

A container home will require a solid pad foundation with access for water and electrical cables. Give plenty of thought to how your container home will connect to the water mains and ensure efficient waste removal.

This video from Costa Rica show a very basic container conversion, it does serve to give you an idea of the processes involved in converting a container.

At London Shipping Containers we can guide you through the entire process of building a container conversion home, we have worked on many projects both residential and commercial. We will source containers at competitive prices and help you find the right designer to work with and experienced construction teams.

Call us first on 0800 567 077

Susan Turner

Shipping Container News

Box Park London Container Park

Converting Shipping Containers For Retail Use

Following our look at the proposed shipping container park in Las Vegas, this post takes a look at Shoreditch London. where a successful container mall has been operating for just under two years.

London has been a hot bed of container conversion activity in the past three years. Not only did we get the Viewtube facility in the Olympic park, which we helped create but in 2011 in Shoreditch the ‘Box Park’ arrived, billed as the worlds first shipping container mall. We take a look at the impact of the project in London.

Box Park has taken a slightly different route to other projects and delivered a retail experience focused on brands, delivered to the consumer in a flexible shopping environment.

The focus on brands is different to the Las Vegas project which is centred on showcasing  innovative new local start ups.

What the Box Park offers is a different experience from the standard homogenised Malls that look identical regardless of their location.

The impact has been to provide brands a vehicle for promotional activity and experiential marketing events.  This is reinforced by the ability of the mall to provide pop up shop locations on site.

Recent events include the Puma ‘Worn My Way’ campaign launch, the Mariachi Doritos performing live and Tic Tac setting up a design your own pack shop, all in March 2013.

Commercial shipping container conversion projects have the ability to create diverse and flexible spaces where the retail experience is not fixed. Adding a finite life span to the project also creates an impetus among consumers to make use of the facility.

London Shipping Containers

Shipping Container Conversions

The Growth In Shipping Container Conversions For Commercial Use

The Boom In Shipping Container Parks

Over the past two years there has been a growth in the use of recycled shipping containers for commercial and community projects. Whilst we were working on the ViewTube project at the Olympic park in London. New projects appeared in London, Las Vegas and New York.

The Las Vegas Container Park Project

The Las Vegas project is particularly interesting, part of the wider Downtown project in the city the ‘Box Park’ is part of a move to make Las Vegas the shipping container conversion capital of the world.

What makes the Las Vegas project really exciting is the committed group of people behind it, the team has partnered with engineering and design professionals.

The project will ultimately provide a flexible commercial space which can be themed and reset as required. The container park will provide a space where new business ideas can be tested.

Not much technical information is available about the project yet. But Las Vegas could become a blueprint for how under utilised urban spaces can be made commercially viable again.

The flexibility of shipping containers means that it is possible that the park could be moved to new locations. Each time showcasing new small businesses and ideas. The container park is being organised by the Downtown project a community business action group which helps creates jobs and small business opportunities in Las Vegas.

The park will in fact be a hybrid of recycled shipping containers and purpose built structures provided by a Las Vegas based manufacturer. 

The potential of the container park to make a lasting economic impact in Las Vegas is massive, working not only as a community centre and attraction bringing visitors in. But also as a seed camp for new businesses providing low cost premises for start up’s.

When creating a project on this scale planning is vital and so is great technical execution of the idea. Currently we are working on a series of commercial container conversions including mobile displays for brands.

Container conversions provide flexible and durable structures, which can quickly be re purposed. Keep watching developments in Las Vegas as the project moves forward.

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