A Northumbrian birdwatching facility has been made from two 20-foot long shipping containers.
Northumbrian Water, working in partnership with a local studio, created the bird hide using recycled materials, and the robust container has replaced a previously vandalised post, according to the Northumbrian Water Group.
This centre follows the tradition of taking a storage container for sale and adapting it for a whole new use, taking advantage of their shape and strength to turn them into housing, restaurants and even swimming pools.
The birdwatching post overlooking the River Tyne is a natural extension of this, and due to being over two floors allows people to get closer to the wetlands and see birds in their natural habitat.
The project cost £22,000 in total, not counting the cost of the original shipping containers, which had seen thousands of miles of travel and were destined for the scrapheap otherwise.
The project repurposed scrap materials to help the building fit into the surrounding landscape, and features an adjustable camouflage to further avoid disrupting nature.
In total, the bird hide took two months to make, including six hours to assemble it and five hours to install everything.
Shipping containers are becoming a major trend in architecture because of how strong they are and the ecological benefits of reusing an existing metal structure.
However, be sure to check for rust and corrosion on particularly old containers, and make sure you know the container’s history, in case it has been exposed to insecticides and other toxic materials.