Check Out This Co-Working Village Made of Shipping Containers

Believe it or not, working from the local coffee shop isn’t always as cool as it sounds. Given the advent of the increasingly popular co-working space, it’s apparent that quite a few coffee-chugging remote employees would agree. Dutch architect Julius Taminiau has expounded upon this concept of creating special places to get stuff done with Startup Village, an inventive co-working space in Amsterdam Science Park in the Netherlands that’s made entirely of colorful shipping containers. (Creativity and upcycling, FTW.)

Constructed with London architect Pop Britxon’s Container House Project in mind, a total of 150 shipping container work spaces, coffee bars and meeting rooms are positioned around a courtyard that functions as an area for open-air events, according to Dezeen. Near the end of the courtyard, a covered area is designated for meetings, networking events and lectures. The entire setup is spread out over two levels and connected by various staircases, wooden walkways and decks. The containers are available in three different sizes: 19 feet long; 39 feet long or a set of connected 19-foot-long compartments. Customers can also rent out the containers long-term.

Instead of a concrete foundation, the containers are erected on concrete tiles that can be easily removed and reused upon dismantling. Each container is built with windows and insulated with infra-red heating devices.

“The shipping container as a metaphor for a garage in which a lot of big companies had their first office, like Apple and Microsoft,” Taminiau said in a statement.

“By placing all these ‘garages’ next to each other a dynamic village arises. The startups will inspire, collaborate across sectors, exchange knowledge and produce unexpected and paradigm-shifting creations.”

Of the advantages of the innovative co-working space, Taminiau added, “The shipping containers can be clad and placed in many different ways, which makes the shipping container quite an interesting architectural element to build quick and low-cost sculptural and spatial temporary building.”