Creative container: Jike Idea Shipping Container Innovation Building.

Old shipping containers as smart recycling and the base module for streamlined, practical architecture have always oozed a kind of charm and this Chinese project proposes a creative, playful reinterpretation for them.



An old, abandoned container, without doors, becomes an invitation for communication between micro-architecture and context. This is the basic idea that animated the designers at Beijing Jikerzhicheng Product Design Consulting Co., Ltd.



They removed a third of the metal walls, in addition to the doors to improve natural ventilation inside, with breezes also flowing through the porthole windows inserted into the walls and the ceiling for light. This container has been turned into a multipurpose, transportable structure.





A pavilion for events that can convert to other uses, such as a tea house or a beach hut.



The designers opted for eco-friendly solutions, insomuch as they wanted to reinforce the intrinsic sustainability of the reused container, and rainwater is collected via a pipe-based system connecting the ceiling to the floor.





The interior is organised on two levels: the open one has timber platforms that open out onto the ground to form a porch, directly connecting it with the environment, while the raised one is set up for sleeping .



A creative container that has travelled more than six thousand kilometres across China, demonstrating not only its charm, but also its practical and attractive nature – the perfect habitat for contemporary nomads.

Project location: Beijing, China
Project area: 15 m2
Design and project management: Beijing Jikerzhicheng Product Design Consulting Co., Ltd.
Web: http://jike.lvshedesign.com
Design director: Keli Mo
Designers: Yang, Zhang, Feng
Completion time: August 10^th, 2012
Photos: Courtesy of Beijing Jikerzhicheng Product Design Consulting Co., Ltd.