Student Dorm Rooms Made From Shipping Containers

If you lived in a students’ dorm, you know the hassle that comes with the lack of privacy, crowdedness, noise, sometimes the lack of cooking space and so on. Here is a project that manages to overcome some of these draw backs. Cité A Docks is a creative student housing project, located in Le Havre, France from Cattani Architects. The amazing thing about it is that 100 new student dorm rooms were created by transforming old shipping containers into a four-story building. Each apartment has 24 square meters and includes a bathroom and a kitchen, which is just about everything a student could need. We have to say we were a bit skeptical at fist when seeing the exterior of this building, as it looks too “metallic” and industrial for our tastes while the overall gray certainly doesn’t go with the exuberance and energy of students. Here is what the architects had to say about this: “The metal structure allows a better identification of the different rooms, and enhances them through the external extensions that become terraces and balconies. The sequences of the transverse corridors giving access to the apartments on the façade creates a succession of full and empty spaces that gives the structure a more visual transparency.” What are your personal opinions on this project?