Shipping container architecture is not new in London. A pair of now-iconic projects demonstrate how the modules can be configured: Boxpark in Shoreditch has been the world’s first ‘pop-up’ mall, while Container City was the first of a series of successful projects to house apartments and offices like the BBC Broadcasting Studios.
In the kingdom of tech and fashion start-ups, between Old Street and Hackney, containers become the perfect solution for young companies with phantasmagoric dreams and tight budgets. Last spring saw the inauguration of workspaces known as ContainerVille in the south bank of the Regent’s Canal, on the side of the iconic gasometer of Broadway Market.
The 30 colorful shipping containers, arranged over two floors, have been upcycled into dynamic work spaces housing four desks and with views of one of the fancier areas of the city. The eco-friendly workspace was designed by Kyson Architects, a young architecture studio based in East London, for local landlord and developer The Estate Office Shoreditch. The reduced cost of the structure allows to create affordable work spaces so that small businesses are free to grow more organically.
The containers have been properly insulated and the container-doors on the river-side façade have been replaced with double-glazed sliding doors and a Juliet balcony; each unit is accessed on the opposite site.
Meanwhile, the character of the container perfectly matches with the industrial heritage of the area, which is surrounded by old brickwork warehouses. The outdoor deck space was conceived to increase socializing and informal meetings between the tenants.
Moreover, the project counts with the collaboration of Hackney-based design studio OneAnother and art collective LeGun to curate the branding design. The sketches take inspiration from the culture’s carousel of the area, say designers Chris Bianchi and Steph von Reiswitz, who drew the characters. “The ContainerVille logotype borrows from narrow boat signage while the deliberately arresting people, buildings and beasts which populate the drawings include coffee skyscrapers, hipsters riding bikes with more wheels than necessary and even a Canada goose with a peach afro.”
