You might not want to live in a shipping container permanently, but now you can test-drive one for a night or two at the affordable, streamlined and modern Ccasa Hostel in Vietnam. Colorful cargo containers are stacked on top of each other to create a tower of rentable rooms, set within an open air framework that takes advantage of the tropical local climate. Located in Nha Trang just a three-minute walk from the beach, it’s intended for backpackers who flock to the area to enjoy local mineral spring resorts and temples.
The design of the hostel is based on that of a family home, with lots of beds sharing bathroom, kitchen and living room facilities. Some of the converted shipping containers offer private bedrooms, while others are packed full of bunks in traditional hostel fashion. The containers are seen as just a place to sleep or rest in between adventures or socializing in the common areas.
Ccasa Hostel contains three functional blocks: the sleeping block, the washing block and the serving block. The serving block is made of steel frames and black painted metal sheets, and the washing block mimics typical Vietnamese architecture with white-painted bricks and concrete. The three colors of the shipping containers denote different kinds of bedrooms.
Instead of the dank, dark corridors you’d usually find in a cheap hostel, there are breezy open-air walkways looking down onto the courtyard below, which is filled with trees. A system of ropes and steel framing encourages climbing vines to obscure the shipping containers on the rear of the building, and as it grows, it’ll create a living screen that filters air, light and noise.
