Stack, Cut, Assemble ISO 668: How to use shipping containers in architecture

Shipping containers are a key symbol of the globalized world economy: 20 or 40 feet of pure steel reduced to the essentials. Especially their physical qualities have made them popular among architects and designers as an expression of a contemporary lifestyle – independent, flexible and unconventional.

Stacking, cutting and assembling these boxes results in sophisticated design concepts and well-thought-out functional solutions in very different contexts. These range from experimental art projects via temporary restaurants to complex housing structures and even a railway station. The projects selected for this volume reflect the great variety of the still young container architecture sector and show the enormous potential inherent in these robust, inexpensive and universally available standardized modules.

• Barneveld Noord Railway Station, the Netherlands (NL Architects)
• Joshua Tree Residence in California, USA (Whitaker Studio)
• Bayside Marina Hotel in Yokohama, Japan (Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects)
• Google Campus in London, UK (Jump Studios)
• D.O.C.K in Berlin, Germany (Artdepartment Berlin GmbH, Peter Weber)