The design community at Dwell is a great place to go for home design inspiration, from actual structures to finishing touches. Last week, a collection of photos illustrating “What You Can Do With Old Shipping Containers” started at the stylish 404 Hotel in Nashville — which naturally piqued our interest — and then went on to explore the various possibilities of that growing phenomenon, from a massive stacked-container home in France to a simple guest house in San Antonio and a visitors’ center in Toronto.
Nashville’s definitely not lagging behind in the latest building possibilities — a few years from now, we’ll probably be able to point out a dozen cool shipping container projects, but even now, there are already cool places of various uses, all ready to explore. Here are a few:
Where to check out shipping container construction in Nashville
Stay
The Bird House
If you’d like to see what it’s like to spend a night inside a shipping container-turned-home, local homeowners created The Bird House in northwest Nashville, close to the city but tucked amid the trees (and with friendly horses in your midst). The construction gives you a good sense of the possibilities with this kind of building — it’s made of two large structures set apart by a breezeway, and inside, it has a modern kitchen, lofted bed, full bath and lots of charm. Kind of like Tiny House living that’s not excessively tiny.
Down the line, you should be able to stay in a shipping container home in Nashville longer term, without having to take on any construction.
Developers MiKen are already working on Stack 19 (pictured up top), a 13,000-square-foot mixed-use community in The Nations that’ll have 19 rental units, ranging from 320 to 600 square feet, and retail space, all built out of former shipping containers. The intent is to make the modern units affordable, starting at about $700 per month. The retail space will apparently house a cocktail space/neighborhood bar, so you wouldn’t have to go far for social calls. Last we heard, the project had broken ground, but we haven’t seen an estimated completion date announced yet.
A similar project was just announced in Wedgewood-Houston — Nashville Business Journal says a three-story structure is in the works for a 2-plus-acre property at 2150 Byrum Ave., with just shy of 100 residential units expected.
Eat and do:
At 404 12th Avenue S. in The Gulch, the 404 Hotel and Kitchen took adaptive reuse and shipping container construction and put them together, adding a repurposed container to the existing former auto garage on the property, and turning it into an upscale restaurant. The menu’s emphasis is on modernized classics, which makes sense given the context, and the building is warm and beautiful, despite its cold and utilitarian former life.
It’s a tiny place that serves dinner Tuesday through Saturday, and if you’re passing through town, the attached boutique hotel gives you a place to crash, too. (It’s not a shipping container, but you’re still staying shipping container-adjacent.)
OneC1ty
When it’s all done, the OneC1ty development on Charlotte Avenue will be a massive destination, with eight buildings totaling hundreds of thousands of square feet, with offices and retail and residential space, plus green space and community areas. Expectations were for six years of construction and $400 million to go into the project.
Progress is already humming along, and one of the first completed OneC1ty attractions is its C1TYblox retail district, built with 21 repurposed shipping containers.
Already open for visitors there at 3001 Charlotte Avenue: Vegan restaurant Avo (pictured above), fitness space CrossFit Nashville Charlotte Avenue and more.
A 276-unit apartment complex is in the works there too, with, if all goes as planned, lots more to come.
What do you think about shipping container construction — could you see yourself living in a shipping container home? Curious to try one out? We’d love to hear what you think.
We’re not listing any shipping container homes at the moment, but if you’re thinking building something like that is for you, we may be able to help you find the piece of Nashville real estate to make it happen. Contact us and let us know what you need!