London Shipping Containers – like the rest of the world – has had an unusual 2020. During this time we’ve had the chance to look back on some of our favourite projects over the years. One of which was Viewtube –
View Tube in London is an exciting development of a community venue just outside of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and has been running since 2010.
Much of the community is built up around an impressive structure consisting of a selection of shipping containers housing a cafe, bike rentals and artist studios.
London Shipping Containers was selected as the vender of choice for the sourcing and delivery of these containers and we were proud to partner with the View Tube team to make this project a success. The way the team used containers to create the venue has made it one of our favourite projects.
If you’re considering shipping containers for a building, roadside cafe, temporary structure or even an entire complex! London Shipping Containers can help with our selection of 10ft, 20ft and 40ft containers plus logistical and operational support.
London Shipping Containers was proud to be a key part of the supply chain for the NHS during the Coronavirus pandemic.
We were approached by KRH Contracts to help with the storage of PPE for NHS London and the Nightingale Hospital.
After an initial consultation London Shipping Containers provided KRH with a 10ft office unit free of charge, we then utilised our years of experience to help with logistical expertise and supply of 2 more 20ft units for the safe, secure storage of PPE.
This project really helped us show how flexible we are to our customer requirements and how we provide a deeper service than simply supplying containers.
Contact us to today to discuss your business requirements!
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Rosa Parks development in Detroit will get underway in early 2013, this affordable housing project will create family homes from shipping containers stacked 4 high for each unit.
The artists drawings of the condos show communal gardens and balconies for each home. With a host of energy saving features the architect Steven Flum has aimed for an 80% reduction in energy consumption for the container homes compared to a standard construction home of the same size.
America is home to a growing number of container conversions, Aprisa in Portland the disaster housing in New York and the Home in Florida we talked about in a previous post.
As winter is now upon us, frost is inevitable and there are steps you need to take to ensure that your shipping containers are protected through the winter.
This is especially true for those who are hiring containers as your source company may well add additional damage charges at the end of the hire agreement.
Just a few simple steps can protect you from unwanted additional costs and your shipping containers from winter / frost damage.
Please ensure that heaters are left on a low setting at all times.
All water pipes in Kitchen/Canteen units should be insulated against frost and water should be drained and switched off when not in use.
It is a good idea to put a small amount of grease or oil on the door locks, padlocks and any other moving part to help stop the mechanism freezing up.
If you find these tips useful, please pass them to your sites carrying our units and continue to enjoy a problem free winter.
If you have specific questions about shipping container maintenance once they are on site and in use feel free to get in touch.
Great story from the BBC yesterday, a new bar and restaurant is being built from 100 containers. Portishead Marina is located on the Bristol Channel in the south west of the U.K.
The BBC picked up on this commercial shipping container conversion yesterday but there is a full story from the local Bristol Press about the restaurant from a few days earlier.
We love the ingenuity of using shipping containers for housing, this video show the story of a man from Gainsville Florida who created a home from 12 shipping containers, the build took nine months to complete, the really interesting part is note how energy efficient the house is.
When you are lucky enough to get involved in such an amazing project like View Tube it is hard to say no!
What started out as a simple enquiry into buying some shipping containers turned into a great project when London shipping containers helped to play a pivotal role.
Back in April 2012 we were contacted by Mark Ashworth the project director of the View Tube. The request was simple for two 20ft containers to be painted and adapted to serve as a viewing point over the Olympic park whilst the games were on.
As we have a history of working with conversions of shipping containers it was not a surprise that Mark approached us to quote for the project. However the project was set up as a social enterprise and community venue.
After discussing the initial requirements with Mark it was clear that we could help The view tube grow into something much more. We agreed to take part in the project and quickly put Mark in touch with the engineers we use for container conversion designs.
The original plans grew to be something else, something much larger and more exciting than was first envisaged.
The expanded design includes a Cafe, bike hire facility and a community garden alongside a classroom for an arts education programme.
The View Tube closed shortly after the Games this summer but will reopen in December with a large event where we will be present.
We are very proud to have been part of such an amazing project and to have played a part in helping it grow into something larger and hopefully a sustainable business which benefits the local community.
The View Tube
The Upcycled viewing platform and education centre in the Olympic Park London
