Container projects require a smaller crew - invaluable during the current labor shortage - with fewer logistical delays than other projects. In today’s development climate, Scott said the speed of construction with repurposed shipping containers and other modular construction is particularly attractive as developers focus on getting a building up and generating income sooner. “We can put a shipping container building up much faster than doing conventional construction and spend minimal time on site,” Runkle said.

Speed of construction is among the key advantages of repurposed shipping containers. Scott said these can range from the quick deployment of temporary or permanent single-story auxiliary structures, including storage, office expansion, manufacturing, equipment enclosures and other support structures, to larger projects such as low/mid-rise apartments, retail shops, hotels and a variety of commercial office structures.įor those considering containers for a project, there are some crucial challenges and opportunities to understand about a construction method that is becoming less and less unorthodox. Today, containers are used for an array of commercial projects. We are now seeing larger-scale, full-building developments, repurposed containers that are retrofitted and built-out offsite and then onsite.” “Some of the first notable repurposing projects were low-scale (one- to two-level) assemblies for retail and recreational projects. “In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, there was some use of new purpose-built container structures for pharmaceutical manufacturing and other industrial uses because they were quick to build and easy to transport and deploy,” Scott said. “It’s really gotten busy,” said Runkle, founder of Runkle Consulting, which provides structural engineering services.Īlan Scott, director of sustainability – building science solutions for Intertek, said the repurposing of shipping containers in construction largely was a fringe phenomenon until recent years. Attracted to the containers’ durability and the accelerated timelines associated with using them in construction, more developers are incorporating them into a variety of projects, he said.

George Runkle has worked on repurposed shipping-container construction projects since 2007, and he’s seen the market experience a marked change in recent years.

Rules of Thumb for Distribution/Warehouse Facilities Designįlexibility, affordability and durability are among the factors behind their growing use.

Certificate of Advanced Study in Real Estate Finance.

Certificate of Advanced Study in Commercial Real Estate Development.

Construction of shipping containers