Shipping container mall : a rising typology

Abstract

Nowadays, it is rather unusual to find someone that hasn’t come across –either on the streets or in magazines- small shops made out of shipping containers. These little boutiques, so appealing, have often become the flagship stores of iconic brands such as Freitag, Puma or Uniqlo. However, few are the ones who are aware of the existence of shopping malls made out of these same containers. Neither a building, nor a stall –and despite their unusual construction material- they still are mostly considered architectures, but their singular constructive qualities produce a particular architectural outcome worth to be studied thoroughly. The purpose of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to analyze and compare their architectural attributes with those of traditional shopping mall architecture. Secondly, to reflect on whether these new architectural solutions can be considered conceptual models to inspire future commercial typologies, able to respond better to certain arising architectural, social and urban demands.