When thinking about uses for our A-Verdi Storage Containers you probably come up with a pretty shortlist. Most people only think of the obvious uses like storing equipment on a job site or personal belongings as you remodel your home but the truth is storage containers are being used more and more as a building block for other projects. This trend is called “container urbanism” and was first started in the 1960’s but has seen a rise in popularity over the past few years. Our units provide a durable and sturdy frame that architects, designers, and planners have been finding innovative ways to use each and every day.

Here are just a few creative ways storage containers are being used around the globe:

Infrastructure

Yoav Messer Architects in Tel-Aviv have begun construction on a 525 ft. long bridge made from recycled shipping containers. This would connect Lod Road to the Arial Sharon National Park, which was constructed as a way to revitalize an area that was once a waste dump. A community that has always been concerned with environmental conservation, loved the idea of repurposing shipping containers to create the bridge. The structure will be sturdy enough to support pedestrian and light vehicle traffic, including bicycles and small shuttle buses.

Housing

Using containers to build a home can be a cheap and affordable alternative to traditional construction. From expensive dream homes like “Casa Oruga” in Chile to a simple low-cost housing alternative similar to these ones being built in California, containers continue to prove themselves as a reliable building material. In Norway, students from the University of Stavanger has even proposed and started planning how they can use recycled storage containers to solve their country’s student housing crisis.

Education

The Costa Mesa Waldorf School in California is an eco-friendly facility made from 32 recycled shipping containers. The build only took 99 days to complete and contains all the amenities you come to expect from a local school including, classrooms, restrooms, a cafeteria, and even a science lab. Although this isn’t the biggest school ever, it took less than half the time of your average build this size.

Agriculture

In one of our previous blogs, we touched on how local Syracuse University students turned one of our used shipping containers into a full-functioning hydroponics farm. Well, although this build has a special place in our hearts being so close to home and using one of our containers, it is not the only one of its kind. FreightFarms is a Boston-based company that has been doing this type of work since 2010. Each of their farms can produce over a hundred heads of lettuce or similar greens every week. Unlike your traditional farms, these hydroponic farm containers can grow anywhere year-round and the sturdy steel frame protects them from weather that may otherwise ruin your crop.

Retail

From ice cream stands to art galleries, storage containers have been used for a variety of retail spaces. Popular along the Jersey Shore, these containers have been serving the retail needs of big and small businesses alike for years. In one of our previous blogs, we shared Puma City, a fully functioning mobile Puma store made from 24 storage containers, but this is not the only company to embrace this eco-friendly use for storage containers. As far away as New Zealand, containers are being used to create entire shopping malls that are built to last.

Humanitarian Efforts

Not only are containers being used as an eco-friendly building material, they are also being used for humanitarian efforts to house the homeless and refugees. In Hawaii, the Hale Mauliola Housing Navigation Service Center is running a full-functioning homeless shelter that provides housing for up to 90 people without homes. In Germany, they are using containers to build short-term homes and villages for those displace during the conflicts in Syria. These villages even come equipped with restaurants, hospitals, and schools all made from storage containers.

Storage containers have many more uses than one would expect at first glance. Every day innovators are finding new inventive ways to use and reuse storage containers. They have provided some affordable and eco-friendly solutions to problems that plague our society. At A-Verdi we love innovation like this and can’t wait to see some of these creative uses right here in Upstate New York.