This article was taken from the July 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
In Johannesburg, South Africa's dense metropolis, there's no room for cheap, central student housing. But local builder Arthur Blake, who runs property developer Citiq, has hit upon a way to stretch out the available space: extending existing buildings with shipping containers.
Blake compares the use of these old metal crates to building with LEGO: "The possibilities are endless. You can affix a block in any direction." Applying this logic, he stacked shipping containers on the top and sides of a cluster of abandoned grain silos in the city centre, transforming them into Mill Junction, which will accommodate almost 400 students from next year.
Windows from the sides of these corrugated iron boxes peer out over the city, adding their own twist to the skyline. "A steel box doesn't have a good association here," says Blake, referring to the many shanty town shelters crafted from similar materials, "but that was something that I really wanted to change."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
