Container Observatory – The Best Place for First Date!

Shipping containers can be converted into various kinds of buildings ranging from homes to hotels. They can also be fit into their surrounding environment. A sunset observatory in South Korea’s Incheon makes a good example.

A Korean company named  AnL Studio, has created “Ocean Scope”, an observatory for enjoying the sunset and admiring the horizon in a romantic setting. The structure is built on five shipping containers that are placed on different heights. The containers are also placed on 10, 30, 50 degree angles offering visitors different points-of-view. The containers are equipped with staircases.

In South Korea, many shipping containers are used as temporary shelters in rural areas. The containers do their purpose as shelters but still, they are not harmonized with the surrounding nature. Ocean Scope is one of those examples that show how container architecture can build a dialogue with nature.

Fitting container buildings into their surroundings is a relatively easy task. Due to their simple steel structure, container houses are mainly modified by cutting and welding that are not really labour-intensive operations. Incheon’s observatory’s stair design and the positioning of containers show what can be done with welding and cutting.

Shipping containers are designed to hold heavy weight only on their four corner pillars so excess weight on them might be very damaging. Therefore, roofing is always a challenge with container buildings. Our article on containers shelters describes one roofing solution, but the observatory shows how it can be done more conveniently. The containers are put on different angles allowing rainwater and snow pour down from them. How smart!

Shipping containers are a durable material and today’s main component for affordable and sustainable architecture. We in Shanghai Metal Corporation sell this super construction material internationally. To learn more about our containers, please visit our website. Possible inquiries can be submitted through this link. Please visit our social media sites.

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Inhabitat, Dezeen

    

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Container Houses – The Next Big American Dream

The container housing industry is becoming mainstream as it is now a sub category of affordable housing. Building a home out of shipping containers enables also medium income consumers to hire an architect in a very reasonable price. Thereby, container homes might be the next American dream.

Companies have also noticed the advantages of container housing. For instance Starbucks has already installed its container coffee shops in Seattle and London. Container homes also come with a pretty nice design.

One of the benefits of shipping containers is their modularity. They are made as same sized and designed to be piled up and fit optimally in cargo ships. Containers are like Lego blocks. You can pile them up and thereby even create a multiple floor or a multiple wing mansion.

Shipping containers are also designed to be able to resist rough weather in seas. Thereby they are made of really durable and tough material that ensure the safety of a container home. In addition, the material is really simple to modify. Cutting, reforming and other modifications are done by welding which is a simple and cheap procedure. Building a nice patio with a jacuzzi is suddenly affordable.

Also one great thing about containers is that their are available in all all over the world and their transportation is extremely convenient. Containers are designed to fit in a standard shipping cargo leaving no blank space in the ships. Because of the new mainstream use of containers, their weight-to-value ratio is to increase.

The benefits of container homes have been recognized worldwide. For instance, in Finland, container housing is becoming a great solution for offering affordable student homes. Please read about more the Finns’ solution to student housing in our blog. Also the world’s hotel industry is going wild of containers as new companies offering transportable accomodation solutions emerge. Container hotels is also in a luxury top-end category in the hotel industry. Please read more about luxury container hotels here.

China is a major exporter of shipping containers and Shanghai Metal Corporation is one of the leading businesses in that field. To know more about our container houses, villas, hotels and offices, please visit our website. Also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. You can also download our new mobile application by scanning the QR code below.

#AddingValueAcrossTheGlobe

Tuomas P. // SMC Editor

Pictures and original articles: Smartplanet.com, Ecopressptc.com, Inthralld.com, Homedsgn.com, Buzzfeed.com, Bobvila.com, Australian Council of Trade Unions,  Wikipedia, Prefabfan.com