Mansell Street Community Centre (Container City)
London
E1
Container City™
DESIGNER: Container City BUILDER: Container City BUILD DATE: 2007
LOCATION: Mansell Street, London E1, UK PHOTO CREDITS: Container City RATING: 4 Stars
Mansell Street Community Centre is a two-storey community centre and creche built from shipping containers on Mansell Street in London E1, on the eastern edge of the City of London. It was commissioned by the Corporation of London and designed and built by Container City, the Urban Space Management team behind the stacked container buildings at Trinity Buoy Wharf. It was completed in 2007.
The site is a narrow, irregular pocket squeezed in between much bigger buildings, which is exactly the kind of spot where containers shine. The centre gives the local community 232 square metres of space over two levels, housing a community centre and a creche. Bright green cladding and big round porthole windows make it easy to spot from the street, and a dark band between the two floors breaks up the long boxy form nicely.
Build Method
The building was made up of self-contained container units fabricated off site, then trucked in and craned into position in a single day. On a tight inner-city block that matters a lot, as road closures and crane hire cost real money and neighbours don't love a long, noisy build.
Furness Engineering looked after the structural engineering. Because the units are bolted together rather than built in place, the whole building is demountable, so if the site is ever needed for something else the centre can simply be lifted out and moved. Openings for the doors, windows and porthole windows are cut into the steel walls, and the outside is finished in green profiled panels.
Interbode Thoughts
We like this one because it shows how useful containers can be for councils and community groups. A leftover sliver of land in the middle of London became a working community centre and creche, installed in a day and ready to move if plans change. That speed and flexibility is exactly what we push for at Interbode, and for a smaller two-level club room or community space our STACK2 would be a great place to start. Great job Container City and the Corporation of London!
Build or Buy
Guides
NEST Design & Build Plans
2 BED | 1 KIT | 1 BATH - Dimensions: W x D x H
NEST is a double unit 2X 20M (40ft) High Cube Shipping container design suitable for a small house/ holiday apartment use complete with regular kitchen and bathroom in both Grid and Off Grid configurations and with 1 Solar roof option.
Download detailed plans for NEST which include the following drawings in A3:
DRAWINGS SCHEDULES
PROJECT NOTES
FLOOR PLAN
REFLECTED CEILING
ROOF PLAN
ELEVATIONS
SECTIONS
INTERNAL ELEVATIONS
TYPICAL DETAILS
KITCHEN DRAWINGS
JOINERY DRAWINGS
BATHROOM DRAWINGS
ASSEMBLY DRAWINGS
WINDOW SCHEDULES
LIGHTING PLAN
POWER & SWITCHES PLAN
ELECTRICAL SCHEMATICS
FIXTURES & FINISHES SCHEDULE
Bespoke plans or amendments are also available from Interbode’s Design Studio. Contact Us: https://www.interbode.com
Notes:
Whilst detailed, this document is not for construction and is not intended to be compliant with all council or building regulations in your country or state. Prior to commencing build you should engage a suitable architect/drafts person and a qualified engineer.
All plans are copyright of Interbode Pty Ltd and Boxwood Construction Pty Ltd.