Recycled shipping containers have found an innovative application in a 14-storey student accommodation development just completed in Newtown, Johannesburg. The conversion of former grain silos provided 10 floors of accommodation, while containers were used to add four more storeys. “The building towers over Newtown and is proof of what can be achieved through creative design and leading edge architecture,” says Paul Lapham, CEO of Citiq, a Gauteng-based property investment and management company. The company’s first alternative development was an apartment block built out of shipping containers in Windsor. “We were initially quite nervous about how the public would react to living in an apartment built out of shipping containers – but all the apartments were rented out within two days of our open day in Windsor,” he said. CAPTION Containers add four storeys to student accommodation in Johannesburg.
