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All aboard: Shipping Container Architecture

Metal is sailing ahead as the material of the moment as more brands jump on-board the shipping container architecture trend.

Starbucks is the latest name to upcycle used cargo containers, for its new café in Taiwan. The first in the Asia Pacific for the global brand, the new coffee house is made up of 29 striking white containers, stacked seemingly randomly but in a grid pattern to represent the trees and branches of the coffee tree.

Images sourced from Kengo Kuma

Inside the 320 sqm space designed by architects Kengo Kuma, coffee lovers will find cosy, intimate spaces lit by skylights and single pane windows and a drive-thru for caffeine on the go.

It’s not Starbucks first voyage into shipping container architecture however. The brand now has over 40 outlets in the US where metal cargo containers have been transformed into coffee shops, as part of its Starbucks Greener Stores initiative, a framework to design, build and operate sustainable stores around the world.

Shipping container architecture uses

Modular metal building or ‘cargotecture’ has a lot of advantages, in particular the ability to easily modify the units and combine multiple containers for different end uses. Shipping containers are used as low-cost homes, temporary pop-up stores, school buildings, office space and even the basis for shopping malls.

Metal containers also instantly create the industrial look, a trend which is the perfect match for other metal materials such as perforated metal and wire mesh. Take a look at the container café created by shipping container architecture specialists Boxman Studios for wakeboarding venue Shark Wake Park, which uses wire mesh balustrade and balcony fencing for the perfect finish.

Image sourced from Boxman Studios

Architects Rabih Geha even used layers of perforated metal and clever lighting to recreate the industrial aesthetic of a shipping container for the interior of new Beirut nightclub Two Weeks.

Image sourced from Architects Rabih Geha

Perforated metal and wire mesh for shipping container architecture

Arrow Metal can custom-create perforated metal and wire mesh to complement your shipping container architecture project. Talk to our expert team about your requirements on (02) 9748 2200 or send us an online enquiry.