Royal Wolf, an Australian company specializing in hiring, selling and modifying new and recycled shipping containers, now has an HQ building made of shipping containers. This office is located in Melbourne Australia and was designed and built by the firm Room 11. One of the main purposes of this project was to showcase the fabrication and construction methods employed by Royal Wolf by using them to build their own offices.
The Royal Wolf HQ is build from 20-foot and 40-foot shipping containers, which are placed in such a way as to create four internal courtyards. The placing is also such that the containers create a complete rectangle. The ends of each of the shipping containers used were replaced with full height glazing to maximize the amount of natural light coming in, while the sides of some of them were also cut away and replaced by windows. The ceilings were left exposed, but were covered with rigid insulation and a membrane roof. Two of the shipping containers were placed vertically, to make a skylight that lets light enter the interior and creates a balcony of sorts for the structure.
The design of the structure follows the idea of creating several enclosed, light-filled office spaces, which are interspersed with internal courtyards that are planted with trees and shrubs. All the offices and reception areas are placed around a central courtyard and have a view of the green areas. The meeting room, managerial offices and kitchen are placed in the external parts of the structure.
The designers left the exterior of the structure virtually untouched, meaning that it is at once obvious the offices were constructed out of shipping containers. Looking at the photos, one would assume they used new, and not recycled shipping containers for the project though. It is, however, still commendable for a company to actually use the product they are selling. It could also serve as an idea how to position shipping containers to create a light-filled, spacious home out of them.
Here is a time-lapse video of the construction process, so you can get a better idea of what was involved.
Royal Wolf – container placement from Aaron Roberts on Vimeo.
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