Design
A Hotel That Travels, Too
Guest accommodations that can be installed just about anywhere.
The historic port city of Antwerp has long had a glut of Chinese shipping containers rusting on its docks. To put the abandoned receptacles to use, three Belgian entrepreneurs — Geoffrey Stampaert, Didier Opdebeeck, and Ellen Wezenbeek — brainstormed the concept of a "moving hotel" for their new venture, Sleeping Around: its first pod of six containers houses four modern, fully-equipped hotel rooms with hardwood floors and rainshowers, plus a cafe/lounge and sauna.
The three friends came up with the idea in a pub one evening while discussing Opdebeeck’s new house. "He had to move from his apartment, and his new home wasn't ready yet," Wezenbeek says. "So he bought a container to live in for a few months."