Boxpark Shoreditch

Boxpark (commonly stylized BOXPARK) is a collection of shipping container retail parks across England. Their first location, BOXPARK Shoreditch, launched in the East London are of Shoreditch in 2011.

BOXPARK positions itself as a place for both street food vendors and retail shops to flourish. What’s unique is that they specifically include both global/national brands and younger, local brands. That means some larger brands have occasionally been turned down by management, and flexible leases for younger companies have been offered. The strategy makes it easy for consumers to get more of what they already like from familiar brands, but also discover something new from independent shops.

Created by entrepreneur Roger Wade, BOXPARK used a total of 60 repurposes shipping containers in its construction. Altogether, the boxes create over 50 rental spaces for both retail shops and food and beverage sellers, plus the four bars operated by BOXPARK itself. Units are primarily sized at either 300 or 600 net square feet, spread across 40 containers on the ground floor and 20 containers on the second floor.

Thanks to thick insulation, minimal heating is required and natural ventilation takes the place of air conditioning. And the container construction allowed the entire project to be assembled with just a few weeks of on-site work, while the majority of interior fit-out construction took place off site.

BOXPARK is also unique in its hundreds of annual event offerings, which include things like movie screenings, live music, creative workshops, art exhibitions, and more. In short, BOXPARK is intended to be a place to relax and spend time, not just shop.

The location of BOXPARK Shoreditch is ideal. Sitting directly below the Shoreditch High Street station, the container park is an easy stop off for passengers on the London Overground trains. And it’s only two or three miles to many places in London’s city center.

That public transit accessibility is important, as the site doesn’t have any public parking. But the commuters along with the local apartment dwellers who live nearby have proved to generate more than enough foot traffic to sustain the businesses in the container park.

BOXPARK Shoreditch also an example of adaptive reuse, sited on the former location of the Bishopsgate Goods Yard, which has a history of well over 150 years. Designer Waugh Thistleton Architects created the development to intentionally be semi-permanent (an obvious feature of shipping container construction’s flexibility), as the larger site has longer term development plans.

Despite the obvious potential of the site, economic conditions weren’t favorable for the larger, permanent development that allowed BOXPARK to secure a lease in the first place. But after over 10 years of operation, it seems the end is drawing nearer for BOXPARK Shoreditch. In it’s place will be mixed-used development The Goodsyard with 500 homes and four million square feet of office space.

Until then, people will continue enjoying the unique offerings of BOXPARK Shoreditch’s diverse merchants, as well as visit BOXPARK’s other locations. And we’ll continue to see more container parks similar to this one popup around the world!