Container Atlas: A Practical Guide to Container Architecture

This book presents a wide range of projects in container architecture – a contemporary architectural phenomenon. It features container structures used as pop-up stores and temporary exhibits as well as sophisticated housing and office spaces that provoke and inspire while setting new standards in functionality and aesthetics. But the book is not only visually inspiring. Because it documents plans, describes associated costs, and suggests concrete solutions for common problems, it is a practical reference for architects, planners, and cultural activists as well as event and marketing managers, to guide them in deciding what types of containers are best suited to their upcoming projects.


Shipping containers are modular, affordable, and virtually indestructible. More and more often they are being used to build temporary structures such as pavilions, offices, galleries, and bars that can be easily moved if necessary. This phenomenon has a name: container architecture.

Container Atlas presents a wide range of contemporary projects along with an in-depth investigation into the background and evolution of this topical field. The book illustrates how containers are being used as building blocks to accommodate the daily lives and special events of urban nomads. Because the structures that containers are used to build are not meant to be permanent, their architecture has a more short-term and playful character that often references current trends. Container Atlas features advertising, pop-up stores, and temporary exhibits that are built using this approach as well as sophisticated housing and office spaces. Found in both urban and rural settings, these container structures provoke and inspire while setting new standards in functionality and aesthetics.

Including detailed reports by experts in the field, Container Atlas explains the historical development of container use in architecture, documents plans, describes associated costs, and suggests concrete solutions for common problems. The book also introduces the various types of containers currently in use today, from standard shipping models to modular pieces made to order out of various materials or with customized cutouts. Container Atlas is a practical and inspirational reference for architects, planners, and cultural activists as well as event and marketing managers, to guide them in deciding what types of containers are best suited to their upcoming projects.

With years of theoretical and practical experience in the fields of container architecture and modular building, architect and professor Han Slawik and his team have established themselves as international experts in these fields.