The renowned Globe Theatre in London, built in 1599 by William Shakespeare’s playing company, was a place where audiences got up close and personal with the players and oftentimes became part of the action on stage. The Globe was where the Bard’s genius came alive. The Container Globe reimagines Shakespeare’s Globe as a green and cost-efficient structure composed of modified cargo shipping containers, designed as the ideal venue for historically-accurate Shakespearian productions, as well as music, dance and live cultural events.
Before it can be stripped of harmful materials, retrofitted and repurposed, the average shipping container eventually produces nearly 1,000 pounds of hazardous waste, and since returning empty containers to their point of origin is costlier than purchasing new ones, used containers often languish in shipyards. Housing and office spaces that utilize containers, while innovative, are often limited in design scope due to the fixed dimensions. From a design perspective, The Container Globe is self-subsuming; its components provide the ideal template for creating a modern-day, steampunk-esque rendition of Shakespeare’s towering yet intimate theater experience.
This new Globe is also deceptively complex. Forty-six 20-foot-long containers comprise the theater while six 40-foot-long containers make up the stage houses; scaffolding, wood flooring, greenhouse roofing panels, and a translucent industrial mesh tie it all together, while corrugated metal wall fixtures will enable superior acoustics. The finished structure will be 20,166 GSF and have a capacity of 1,200 audience members, 650 of which will be standing room in the orchestra section.
Both modular and mobile, The Container Globe features a demountable base which allows for it (or them) to become a temporary or potentially permanent installation, depending on zoning permits and a host city’s wishes. From Wellington to Mumbai, New York to Detroit, wherever surplus shipping containers are available, Container Globes can be built.
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