Thinking outside the box! Firm ‘pushes boundaries’ on two-storey shipping container build for local biz

It’s the biggest project they’ve ever undertaken – but the team at Southampton’s Willbox were not to be deterred.

Work is now complete on their latest build, a 3,500 sq ft, two-storey depot office for local terminal operators Solent Stevedores, comprising 11 steel containers welded together.

It’s designed to accommodate up to 50 people and features a large conference room with balcony, office space, a canteen area, changing and shower facilities, and more.

At the end of the four-month project, Willbox reckons the new HQ at Southampton Port has saved Solent Stevedores 40 per cent of the cost of a traditional bricks and mortar build.

Conversion Manager James Dale said: “This project pushed all the boundaries for us from a project management point of view.

“The containers are designed with a 15-year life expectancy in harsh conditions at sea, but if they’re looked after appropriately, there’s no reason why these containers won’t last for as long as bricks and mortar.

“There’s a 360-degree view from the building and we’ve worked hard to take away any perceptions that it could be claustrophobic by putting lots of windows in.

“This is going to be a very comfortable building for all those that work there – at no point will it feel like they are in an enclosed container box.

“Instead, it will feel like a cohesive and contemporary designed modern building.”

Willbox have been supplying shipping containers and carrying out conversions from their Southampton base since 2000, with MD Chris Williams at the helm for the past four years.

“We’re delighted to have successfully handed over this new headquarters building for Solent Stevedores”, Chris added.

“We look forward to seeing the building occupied and in use for many years to come, showing off the flexibility of shipping containers for modern architecture.”

It was a challenging brief from Solent Stevedores – but Clive Thomas, their Commercial Director, is more than happy with the outcome.

“We wanted a new headquarters building that represented the environment in which we work in Southampton Docks”, he said, “and so having it built from shipping containers seemed like the right choice.

“The team from Willbox has done an exceptional job, delivering our new building in just four months. Not only that, it looks fantastic too.

“We’re going to be very happy here.”

• willbox.co.uk
• solentstevedores.co.uk

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