Container House Design Applications in Tourist Scenic Areas

I. Reuse Value and Applications of Used Second-Hand Containers

(1) Reuse Value of Used Second-Hand Containers

In today's society we can no longer build architecture that belongs entirely to nature, but we can extend a building's service life and delay the cycle of waste. Starting from a single element—used second-hand containers—we seek modular, integrated temporary construction methods that can be implemented quickly, so that these abandoned giants, after conversion and reuse, can unlock greater potential value.

Container characteristics suit use as single dwelling units or as building elements. Containers have a steel frame structure with four-corner load bearing, high safety, and strong resistance to earthquakes, compression, wind, rain, and fire, plus good thermal insulation. Sizes vary, but most offer livable dimensions and can be combined freely as needed. Exteriors can take many forms and look bright and attractive. Flexibility is high: units move easily without dismantling, contents need not be relocated, and whole boxes can be relocated at will. Cost is low—quality at a fair price. With professional spatial design and water and electrical systems, containers become ideal living spaces.

(2) Application Fields for Used Second-Hand Containers

Containers offer rich creative applications across many fields. Internationally, converting used or second-hand containers into houses, temporary venues, mobile exhibition or art halls, commercial displays, and pop-up shops is widespread—especially favored by sports, outdoor, dining, automotive, and technology sectors.

The modular home unit developed by New York's Lot-ek design firm is a 40-foot container. The entire unit uses recycled industrial materials. It is designed for globe-traveling enthusiasts: owners tow it by vehicle when they travel, and interiors can be simple or luxurious to match the owner's needs.

Domestic container architecture is still largely at an early stage: infrastructure is simple, combinations and envelope treatments are relatively uniform, design is not yet human-centered or professionally strong, mainstream recognition is limited, and supportive government policy is scarce—so effective promotion remains difficult. Successful cases have nonetheless appeared in some places.

Tianjin Beitang Container Seafood Street took only about three months from construction to completion. Its container restaurants are rationally planned, orderly in space, and fully functional, meeting user needs well and delivering strong economic returns.

As a major logistics port city, Hong Kong also has many used second-hand containers. Temporary worker housing for urban construction is often converted from containers, and street temporary sales kiosks and convenience stores likewise use containers as buildings.

In recent years, given serious environmental pollution, uneven ecological development, soil erosion, and frequent natural disasters, containers can be converted into post-disaster temporary housing, mobile field hospitals, and similar uses. As living standards rise and land prices climb, they can also become kindergartens, temporary worker housing, student dormitories, studios, and temporary dwellings in tourist landscape areas.

II. Advantages and Features of Used Second-Hand Containers as Modular Units

(1) Advantages of Used Second-Hand Containers as Temporary Housing

1. Ready modular units give temporary buildings the simplest, most reliable structural base that can be mass-produced.

2. Containers can be reused as much as possible. When urban reconstruction finishes and temporary residents return home, containers can go back to docks for freight—avoiding the cost of recovering and disposing of materials after temporary buildings are abandoned.

3. Unified sizes mean no new rules or technical equipment are needed, saving R&D in the construction process.

4. Containers are easier to clean and disinfect (surfaces can be washed directly with high-pressure water).

(2) Structural Features of Container Houses

A container house is a new concept of eco-friendly, economical movable housing: a light-steel frame, sandwich-panel enclosure, space assembled to standard modules, bolt-connected members for fast assembly and dismantling—embodying standardized temporary buildings that are green, energy-saving, fast, and efficient. Units can move anywhere, bringing more convenient, comfortable living. Solar PV panels can supply indoor power; solar water heaters can provide heating and hot water; shower and domestic wastewater are purified by a sewage treatment system for reuse.

(3) Advantages of Converting Used Second-Hand Containers into Temporary Housing in Landscape Areas

Traditional building materials easily pollute landscape areas and take long to build. Container temporary housing can be erected quickly, with short cycles, low pollution, low cost, and easy relocation—overcoming the immobility of traditional buildings. Some tourist landscape areas are seasonal; for example, Qinhuangdao draws many visitors in summer and few in other seasons. Summer then needs temporary landscape housing that other seasons do not. Temporary container dwellings can be dismantled and stacked, avoiding excess ground use, with varied forms—mixed multi-box builds creating layered visual space, diverse envelope colors, durable interior insulation that stays attractive, and multiple cutting and opening strategies.

III. Scheme Research and Discussion on Temporary Container Housing in Tourist Landscape Areas

As society develops, material expectations rise. Under busy urban pressure, travel becomes a first choice for relief and relaxation. At peak tourist seasons, however, housing supply falls short. For this, a new design approach converts used second-hand containers into temporary dwellings in tourist landscape areas: low cost, movable, easy to assemble and dismantle, usable even on non-building land, removable after the season, and stackable for storage. Such temporary container housing can be offered for rent or run by specialized firms, designed in different series, styles, and block combinations—like building blocks—fresh and distinctive.

(1) Design Theme—Regenerative Eco Design in an Intensive Society

This scheme suits tourist landscape areas: blue sky and white clouds, green hills and clear water, away from urban noise and traffic. Open views, beautiful surroundings, and a pleasant climate favor tourism, vacation, and restoration. Fashionable modern architecture meets the natural environment, giving busy city workers a sheltered place to unwind. The design uses nine containers stacked and staggered to form open and closed spaces with varying density. From any angle, visitors can fully sense this captivating scenery.

(2) Design Concept—Low Carbon, Eco-Friendly, Fashionable

Low carbon: new technologies and materials raise efficiency and cut CO2 emissions.

Eco-friendly: design, construction, and later use do not damage the original ecology and do not generate large volumes of waste.

Fashionable: vivid red is the main color, with simple, bold pairing that fits modern aesthetics.

(3) Design Principles—Respect Nature, Harmony and Unity

1. Functional principle: design must meet basic needs for high-quality living and leisure vacation.

2. Nature and science principle: scientific, rational design combines new technologies and materials with the natural ecological environment.

3. Low-carbon eco principle: across materials and equipment manufacture, construction, and building use, fossil energy use should fall, efficiency rise, and CO2 emissions drop.

(4) Technical Requirements—Energy Saving and Environmental Protection

1. Exterior-wall energy saving: composite walls include interior insulation, exterior insulation, and sandwich insulation; sandwich practice is common. In many European countries, exterior expanded polystyrene boards are widely used; in Germany, exterior insulation covers about 80% of buildings, and about 70% of that uses foam polystyrene boards.

2. Door and window energy saving: insulating glass, coated glass (including reflective and heat-absorbing glass), high-strength Low-E fire-resistant glass (high-strength low-emissivity coated fire glass), magnetron vacuum-sputtered silver-layer glass, and intelligent glass.

3. Roof energy saving: smart and ecological technologies—solar thermal roofs and controllable ventilated roofs. Heating, cooling, and lighting dominate building energy use; ground- or water-source heat pumps, displacement fresh-air systems, and radiant floor heating apply.

4. Thermal insulation: in summer a closed container with a metal shell under direct sun can overheat indoors, so an air insulation cavity should be added above the top. Options include an asbestos-tile roof addition, full sunshade-cloth cover, or a roof water tank (also useful for cleaning the container).

5. New energy development: solar water heaters, PV roof panels, PV facade panels, PV sunshades, PV spandrels, PV skylights, and PV glass curtain walls.

(5) Exterior Design—Fresh and Distinctive

1. A vivid red exterior emphasizes the material's inherent character and brings natural beauty. Bold color pairing echoes the surroundings and becomes a striking landscape feature in its own right.

2. Raising and sinking volumes add spatial layering; circulation is lively yet steady. Materials are mostly solid wood combined with boards—eco-friendly and natural—rejecting lavish traditional luxury and expressing modern simplicity.

3. On the ground floor, columns lift containers off the ground, and concrete platforms raise them further—keeping dampness away and improving outward views.

4. With hills and sea around the site, continuous glass doors and windows extend the visual field, making space more transparent. Broader views enlarge perceived space; indoors and outdoors merge so the building rests in nature's embrace.

(6) Interior Environment Design—Simple and Natural

1. Interior functions are laid out rationally; furniture is simple and practical. Natural material textures are stressed, with wood shaping the space and plants and flowers as decoration, compensating city dwellers' longing for nature. The atmosphere is plain, fresh, practical, and comfortable.

2. Interior walls often use vertical timber—for insulation and to visually extend height so the space feels less cramped.

3. Rooms open on three sides with ample sunlight; light and shadow enrich the atmosphere, meeting aesthetic needs through mood and interest.

4. The second-floor balcony uses a roof-garden approach for detail and vitality, integrating indoors and outdoors into open flowing space. On a warm afternoon, with a cup of strong tea and a view toward the distant sea, the scene feels poetic.

Our life is modern, relaxed, and eco-friendly. Reflections on living space continually renew a youthful longing. It may be only a small space, yet the freest paradise; it must be close to nature and feel nature's pulse; outside the window there must be green and water—bright, elegant; its price must stay approachable so housing never becomes a burden... In the bloom of life we refuse mediocrity; we call for enjoying life and its brilliance.

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