Shipping Container Building

LAST UPDATED:

***LEGIT TINY HOME PLANS FOR LESS: Learn how to build your own container home for Only $47! Get LIFETIME ACCESS TO PLANS and a 60-day money back guarantee. Build an affordable, energy-efficient tiny home today.

Are you planning to build something that will be modern and unique?

Are you thinking of using shipping containers to make a building?

Do you want some style ideas to help you build something unique and beautiful?

If you are ready to build something out of a shipping container, check out these shipping container building styles that are gaining a lot of popularity around the world.

Browse through the interesting ideas and design aspects that can help you plan or design your very own modern shipping container building. You can take inspiration from the ideas to create something as per your own taste and use it for creating some beautiful homes or even some interesting commercial spaces.

What is a shipping container building?

A shipping container building uses a number of shipping containers to create a building or blocks that come together.

What are the different ways that a building like this can be used?

These buildings can be used in many different ways. Some of the most common uses of shipping container buildings are:

  • Used as a residential complex or apartment
  • Used as an office space
  • Used as a commercial space such as a mall or store
  • Used as a school, college or other educational space
  • Used as a warehouse 

Amazing images and videos of shipping container buildings

Ready to get inspired? Check out these images and videos that we have rounded up from Pinterest and YouTube to help you get an idea of more design plans to create your very own shipping container building:

Option #1

Grey and yellow container building

  • This particular building has been made using 37 shipping containers.
  • While it can be used for a residential or commercial space design, this one was made for a commercial purpose.
  • The building boasts of a bookable meeting room that also has shared kitchen facilities.
  • It features 15 different office spaces that are available over three floors.
  • The office spaces range from 335 to 412 square feet.
  • Every office space also has a dedicated parking space available.

Option #2

Beautiful restaurant on the beach

  • This funky shipping container building serves as a restaurant on the beach at the Gulf Shores Public Beach.
  • The building has two floors and a lot of open spaces to allow for customers to interact freely with the staff.
  • The colour theme is predominantly blue and some brown, which makes it perfect for the beach.
  • The building also retains some of the original shipping container look, which gives it a rustic vibe.

Option #3

Funky orange building in South Korea

  • It is impossible for anyone to pass by this building in South Korea’s Seoul without pausing to give it a second glance.
  • This particular building acts as a Youth Zone that is dedicated to youths and enables them to carry out different activities here.
  • The bright orange colour is an instant eye-popper and will attract anyone to take a look.
  • It is made out of 13 shipping containers that are placed in different variations of stacking up to create a funky geometrical design.
  • It has 2 floors and the shape is such that it allows free movement and interaction between the youngsters inside.
  • A lot of glass windows have been added to give it an open and spacious feel.

Option #4

Community mall in Thailand

  • This futuristic looking community mall is located in Changslip in Thailand.
  • It is spread over 3 floors and has a very cool metal and glass design.
  • The building retains most of the original shipping container look which makes it unique.
  • It houses a food centre as well as other commercial names inside.

Option #5

Café out of shipping containers

  • This beautiful café is entirely made out of shipping containers and spans over 2 floors.
  • It uses at least 4 shipping containers.
  • The lower floor has a wide cut window on the side that lets customers place their orders and also acts as the main window between staff and customers.
  • The upper floor has both open and closed seating.
  • The stairwell at the side connects both the floors easily.

Option #6

Retail Centre in New Zealand

  • This retail centre is located in central Christchurch area in New Zealand.
  • It was made quickly after an earthquake destroyed the other shopping malls in the area.
  • The shopping centre was designed as a quick alternative for Christmas shoppers.
  • It features 2 floors and the colour is all black, with the brand name displayed at the top.
  • The lower level is mostly open on all sides to allow for ease of entry and exit.

Option #7

Beautiful commercial space

  • This aesthetic design uses about 4 shipping containers and is spread over 2 floors.
  • The lower floor has the main seating and features big glass doors and windows that let in a lot of natural light and air.
  • The upper floor is connected with a staircase at the side.
  • The building entirely retains the natural look of the shipping container and uses it to add to its unique design.

Option #8

Office buildings around the world

  • Take a look at The Box Office space that is one of the largest shipping container office structures in the United States.
  • Also on the list are Cantilever Pavilion in Shanxi, China, Tony’s Farm in Shanghai, China, Container Terminal in Tel Aviv, Israel and more.

Option #9

Architect’s vision of commercial space

  • This architect is planning to create an affordable commercial space at the intersection of Nebraska and Columbus.
  • The plan is to build a space where a number of store owners can operate.

Option #10

Shipping container business park

  • Here is a very unique and interesting business park that is made entirely out of shipping containers.
  • It has 36 office buildings that were made with more than 100 shipping containers.
  • The bright colours of the containers make this a really funky place to work in.
  • The buildings have glass store fronts, garage car ports, outside storage, grassy rooftop and more!

3 benefits of using shipping containers to make buildings

Instead of making buildings by using traditional materials, here are a few benefits of making these out of shipping containers:

Option #1

Faster, more eco-friendly:

  • Shipping containers are a more eco-friendly way of creating a building instead of using the regular materials. This is because they use things that have already been used and will otherwise go to waste.
  • These are also much faster to work with and will allow the occupants to move in faster.

Option #2

Durable, long-lasting and low-maintenance:

  • Shipping containers are made out of very high quality steel that makes them very durable and very long-lasting.
  • This means that you will not have to do any major maintenance work in the building for a long time.

Option #3

Many options to customize the way you want:

  • Creating a shipping container building is like making your own home using as many blocks as you want!
  • Once you start off with the main house idea, you can always keep adding more containers around it to make your home bigger and more interesting. Use it for a residential or commercial space or anything you need it for.

We are sure that these beautiful designs from some of the most unique, practical and beautiful shipping container buildings from around the world are good enough to inspire you. Pull out your ideas to design and style your very own shipping container building and get going. 

We continuously do our best to implement our editorial practices and guidelines throughout our blog. This entails researching every one of our posts diligently and always doing our utmost best to offer the most reliable details possible for our readers. Take the time to visit our About Us Page for more information.

Thank you for visiting ContainerHomesFanatic! When you decide to buy via links on our website, we may possibly generate an affiliate compensation, at no extra cost to you. Please enjoy our website!