text: What are some of the great recycling methods of the past few years?
  Recycling old and unwanted clothes, for one. Using solar panels to power homes, commercial buildings and data centers, to take it a step further. When it comes to better managing our portable spaces and providing convenient locations for workers and students, shipping container modifications are very high on the list. The shipping container cafe, mobile office and construction site are all fantastic ways of getting economical without sacrificing quality. In fact, you may just be surprised by how much you can get out of a seemingly mundane stainless steel box.
  Just what makes the shipping crate restaurant or home office so useful?
  Shipping containers are used in far more applications than you realize. While they are still commonly used to ship food and products from place-to-place, they’re also an insulated, durable and very eco-friendly resource for business settings. Today there are over 17 million shipping containers in the world, with just six million being in use. That’s at least 11 million that could be used for all sorts of useful means. Let’s take a look at what those are!
  All sorts of businesses are leading the charge. Earlier in 2015 Taco Bell debuted the 1,000 square foot pop-up store made from shipping containers. They would later open up a permanent shipping container store in California in 2017, making them one of many companies eager to incorporate an eco-friendly approach into their customer service. The benefits of shipping container modifications started to take off thanks to Starbucks’ efforts back in 2011 when they opened up 450 square foot shipping container stores throughout Washington.
  Shipping containers have convenient minimum sizes that make them easy to locate, modify and reuse. They come in versions that are eight feed wide and nine and a half feet talk, with 20 and 40 foot long models for the more intensive projects. Also known as the ‘design 4.0’, shipping container stores are able to take anywhere between five and 12 weeks off a store’s potential opening timeline. That means more time to conduct business and do what they do best. Not only are shipping container modifications functional, they’re easy to recycle.
  It’s incredible how many resources we can save when we turn to shipping containers instead of more conventional building methods. Each recycled shipping container reuses over 3,500 kilograms of steel. This also saves on the labor required to build, use and destroy materials like wood, plastic, brick, plaster and rubber. Custom shipping containers boast enough durability to outlast many temporary building solutions, to boot. One study found durable steel shipping containers averaging a 25-year lifespan and requiring minimal maintenance.
  The shipping container studio, cafe and office space has only gotten bigger and better. Downtown Container Park in Las Vegas spans an impressive 20,000 square feet with over 30 shipping containers and 40 multifunctional modular cubes forming its perimeter. When you want to save a little money while still providing the basics that go into a comfortable space, using shipping containers is how you do it. Eco-friendly design, long-lasting durability and more than enough to go around…what’s not to love?
  Shipping container modifications will go up there in the hall of fame as one of the best ideas we’ve ever had.