Shipping containers have been retrofitted to become homes, hotels, dorms, and transitional housing for people facing homelessness.
But in the Czech Republic, they are now the foundation of a long-awaited tourist destination.
The architecture studio Atelier-r has just debuted its project Lookout Above Litomyšl, a viewing tower that provides unparalleled views of castles, nature, and sprawling European countryside.
Situated on the outskirts of the town of Litomyšl, two recycled shipping containers make up the watchtower, with one played horizontally as a viewing deck, and the other standing vertically as a tower.
The development is part of the town’s Destinations of Journeys project, which aims to encourage locals and visitors alike to explore the area’s countryside. The tower sits just off a hiking trail and opens to views of the Litomyšl Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as the town center and town hall.
The designers used recycled shipping containers to scale back on cost and make a built structure that could be “reversible” if needed.
“We were driven to design an iconic object that would act as a visual beacon, drawing people towards it,” the firm’s chief architect Miroslav Pospíšil told Dezeen.
Pospíšil added that the creative process was to “conceive a sculptural object with an engaging function, to offer a new perspective on the city center with minimal investment costs, and to remain respectful of the environment.”
“We agreed that the construction should be environmentally friendly, and the overall solution should be reversible, meaning it should be possible to return the site to its previous state in the future,” the architects shared in a project statement.
The shipping containers retain their industrial exterior look, a weathering gray metal that stands in stark contrast to the green landscape. They even still display a logo from the German coffee chain Tchibo, displaying a history of use and reuse.
“To preserve authenticity, the containers were left in their original surface finish,” Pospíšil continued to Dezeen. “They were not specially cleaned or painted. Coatings were applied only to the newly added reinforcing structures. Should the lookout one day cease to attract the city’s residents, though we firmly believe it will not, the structure can be easily dismantled, and the containers recycled for future use.”
Some simple changes were made, however.
Architects added support to the shipping containers, a steel structure that allowed for a staircase to be added inside the vertical tower. Both containers were also placed on reinforced concrete.
And on the top of the viewing tower is an artwork by sculptor Jan Dostál. Made from slender metal rods, it adds an additional dimension to the design while also acting as a lightning conductor to protect the structure.
Overall, the unique new spot adapts to the challenges and limitations of creating new structures — with a much smaller environmental footprint than traditional means.
“The idea behind our project is to create an unconventional piece reflecting contemporary phenomena. We consider the influences of globalization, which simplifies many things (at the cost of their uniqueness) such as transportation and ecology,” the architects shared.
“We rely on … transportation in … most areas of human activity. Ecologists strive to balance finding new paths and eco-friendly alternatives. Our studio intends to reuse items and elements in a new context.”
A shipping container, they added, checks all of these boxes.
“A shipping container … travels around the world, from port to port where people of different nationalities, languages, and beliefs live, transporting goods that we all need. After serving its primary purpose, it can be reused, contributing to the ecological challenge,” Atelier-r designers said.
“By reusing old containers, we can save natural resources and energy sources.”
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Header image by Boysplaynice for Atelier-r
