'Container City' by Urban Space Management

Container City is a trademark of "Urban Space Management". It is principally a means of utilizing standard shipping containers, at the end of their life, to produce flexible accommodation and offices at low cost.

A number of buildings have been installed using this method, primarily in East London. The first (Container City I) was installed in 2001, in 4 days, and fitted out over 5 months, at Trinity Buoy Wharf, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. This was expanded with a second phase (Container City II) in 2002 and offices were constructed on the same site in the Riverside Building in 2005.

A similar technique was used in Container Learn, a 2001 project for Tower Hamlets College, providing 12 extra classrooms, on a site with limited space and completed in the time between terms.

The company have now completed sixteen projects utilizing the technique. which is suited to short and medium term land use - when the land becomes required for other uses, the containers can be reused elsewhere.