Boxpark sits at the beginning of Bethnal Green Road in London’s east End and opposite the miscellaneous ‘Tea’ building in what is fast becoming one of London’s trendiest areas.
Boxpark = (quite literally) a shopping park made up of steel cargo ‘boxes’.
What we like about Boxpark is the fact it been made up of disused shipping containers to house many familiar brands as well as cafes. Described as a ‘retail revolution’ the containers sit on top of one another to create a two-storey shopping experience for hundreds of people.
Located just off Brick Lane and close to Shoreditch Overground Station, it is most definitely a more commercial shopping option to that offered by Brick Lane, where you are more likely to find shoppers seeking vintage and antique clothing. This you will find in abundance in the numerous independent stores that line the street.
While Boxpark might not be everyone’s idea of a picturesque shopping ‘mall’, it does serve to emphasise an excellent point: to recycle, rescue and make good use of large steel carriers that might otherwise be strewn to one side, collecting dust, looking rubbish and ultimately destroying a landscape, be it urban or rural. Perhaps, this is a positive way of offsetting ones carbon footprint, to a degree. Making use, instead of making brand new.
This is not the first time shipping containers have been reused for a purpose other than shipping freight. Ukraine, for example, is home to the biggest shopping container mall in Europe. Appropriately situated in the port town of Odessa, the containers sit on top of one another selling fruit, vegetables, meats and clothes. See image below.
They have also been utilised to provide a cheap solution to much needed office space in cities that are already over-populated and have functioned effectively in cities such as London.
Container City, a project that provides work and living space proves that containers can go far beyond serving simply as a shop and can and have become a habitable place for people to live in. Impressively, much of the materials used in building the first container City in Buoy Wharf is largely made up of recycled materials.
Web-urbanist documents the numerous different forms the containers have taken; from living space to adding an extra room in the shape of an extension. Have a look a the web-site it is fascinating and could inspire your own container project.
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