A Second Life for Shipping Containers Across the Globe

As economist Marc Levinson writes in his superb book (2006), The Box:  How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger:

In April 1956, a refitted oil tanker carried fifty-eight shipping containers from Newark to Houston. From that modest beginning, container shipping developed into a huge industry that made the boom in global trade possible. The Box tells the dramatic story of the container’s creation, the decade of struggle before it was widely adopted, and the sweeping economic consequences of the sharp fall in transportation costs that containerization brought about.

He goes on to say, “The container transformed economic geography, devastating traditional ports such as New York and London and fueling the growth of previously obscure ones, such as Oakland.”

Fast forward to now and you will find how this small piece of innovation – the shipping container that Levinson writes about – has a second life with long lasting effects and continues to change the world.  For example, architects and designers around the world are getting incredibly creative with them, incorporating them into impressive edifices.

Here are some shipping container homes and hotels from across the globe.  You might be inspired to build one of your own.