Architecture

Shipping containers stacked five high to create London hotel

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The Stow-Away Hotel includes 20 container-based hotel rooms
Edmund Sumner
The Stow-Away Hotel includes 20 container-based hotel rooms
Edmund Sumner
The Stow-Away Hotel is located in Waterloo, London
Edmund Sumner
The Stow-Away Hotel features aluminum fins that were added to the exterior to offer shading
Edmund Sumner
The Stow-Away Hotel's exterior fins enliven the appearance of the building
Edmund Sumner
The Stow-Away Hotel is five stories high
Edmund Sumner
The Stow-Away Hotel's ground floor features a wine bar and a reception
Edmund Sumner
The Stow-Away Hotel's rear has a staircase and elevators
Edmund Sumner
The Stow-Away Hotel's wine bar
Edmund Sumner
The Stow-Away Hotel's bathrooms include a shower
Edmund Sumner
The Stow-Away Hotel's interiors include a bed, dining table, kitchenette and bathroom
Edmund Sumner
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Shipping containers have been used for a wide range of projects, from tiny houses to apartment buildings, and, despite their limitations, continue to spark the imaginations of architects. The latest example of this comes from UK design studio Doone Silver Kerr, which used the metal boxes to create a hotel in London.

Located in Waterloo, the Stow-Away Hotel consists of recycled 30-ft (9.1-m)-long shipping containers stacked five containers high, to offer a total of 20 "aparthotel" rooms which can be used for short or longer stays. A wine bar and reception area are installed on the ground floor.

The containers themselves have been painted a uniform white and modified with glazing and doors. We've no word on insulation, which tends to be the Achilles heel of these container-based projects, though the firm did add shading fins to the windows to mitigate solar heat gain and enliven the exterior appearance.

Additionally, rubber padding was used to reduce vibrations and sound carrying throughout the rooms and stairs and elevators were also added to the rear of the building.

The Stow-Away Hotel's interiors include a bed, dining table, kitchenette and bathroom
Edmund Sumner

The interiors of the hotel rooms are finished in stone and stained plywood, and have a muted color palette. They feature a kitchenette, which boasts a dishwasher, as well as a sink, microwave, and portable hotplate, in addition to cabinetry with cutlery and the like.

The bathroom includes a shower, sink, and toilet, and the bed has wall cushions so it can be used to watch the wall-mounted TV.

"Stow-Away demonstrates DSK’s enthusiasm for new construction techniques that can unlock the potential of complex, constrained sites, responding to the demands for increasingly flexible, innovative, technology-driven urban structures," says Ross Kerr, Director, Doone Silver Kerr.

Source: Doone Silver Kerr

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3 comments
paul314
Assuming they've dealt with sound transmission between rooms, insulation should only be an issue for the outermost units (which are painted white). And less so in london, where uninsulated brick is the norm...
pete-y
A much more efficient process would have shipping container sized purpose built units pre-made as rooms built together.
This would negate the need to build in strength to sustain shipping loads and allow the insulation etc to be purpose made.
They can be handled by the same equipment - lorries cranes etc. and would only need an external skin.
Floorless units could allow lifts /stairs etc.
FB36
IMHO, shipping container architecture can solve all cheap housing problems in the world! But, it needs to be done at large/industrial scale, like skyscraper sized metal skeleton buildings providing slots (& easy/automated replacement system) for standard housing units!