Recycled shipping containers are stacked in a ‘Jenga-like’ configuration within a steel frame structure at the Hive-Inn Hotel, a new concept designed by Hong-Kong-based OVA Studio.

The hotel proposal features a number of recycled shipping containers, offering private units or suites that can be moved around to create a constantly-changing design. Each container has a unique interior design created by a different international brand, such as luxury fashion house likes Louis Vuitton and Prada or technology multinationals like Apple, and those companies’ have their branding printed on the exterior of each unit, creating a colourful ‘Jenga-like’ configuration.

Jenga Like Hotel

The structure offers maximum flexibility and mobility.

OVA envisions the containers being leased to various individuals or companies who need temporary space, with the units used not just as hotel rooms but also as short-term offices or retail stores. The containers will be plugged into a grid system with a main service core and empty spaces for small terraces and outdoor areas.

Jenga Like Hotel

The containers will be plugged into a grid system with a main service core and empty spaces for small terraces and outdoor areas.

The designers aimed to create a structure able that offers maxi­mum flexibility and mobility. The project also offers possibilities for alternative applications, such as emergency housing or medical care units. The rooms can be shipped to different locations as required and used for multiple functions.

Focusing on sustainability, recycled containers are used for the modular pieces that are then slotted and plugged in irrespective of what is above or under them, enabling the building to grow in a flexible way or even be reduced its size depending on market demand.

Jenga Like Hotel

Each container has a unique interior design created by a different international brand.

“Pushing the idea, we found that creating a link between famous brands, container fit-out, and Hive-Inn operators could be a winning scenario in which greater experience for the costumer could meet with more exposure for the brands, at less cost for the operator,” the architects said. “We approached the idea under various angles, from design to financial, to costumer/brand experience. As possible scenarios, we developed two containers room designs for Ferrari and Alexander McQueen.”

Jenga Like Hotel

Cross-section and floor plans. Click on the image to view in full.

The project was recently recognised at the Radical Innovation Awards Competition 2014, a competition launched in Hong Kong which asks professionals and students to create a new strategy that solves hotel industry problems and creates new opportunities for guests and investors. The competition’s brief is “Bold New Thinking + Problem Solving + Beautiful Design + Revenue Generating Ideas.”

Entries were judged based on concept, design, creativity and potential impact on the industry. The Hive-Inn Hotel project and the other finalists will participate in the Hospitality Design Expo in Las Vegas this month, where the architects will showcase their ideas before hotel investors and executives.

Jenga Like Hotel

The Ferrari Suite.