Economic and Minimalist Solutions in Self-Sufficient and Movable Shipping Container Hotel, Czech Republic



Floor Plans / Drawings
About Artikul Architects




ProjectContainHotel (Hotel Trainspotting)
ArchitectsArtikul Architects
Containers2x20ft, 1x40ft HC
Year2015
LocationTreboutice near Litomerice, Czech Republic
PhotographyMichal Hurych

Description by Artikul Architects

For a brave investor, we designed a small mobile hotel from used shipping containers. Its first location fell on a surf camp between the Elbe and a busy railway line - that's why we named it Hotel Trainspotting for the time being.

The building consists of two twenty-foot containers and a high forty-foot container transversely placed on them. In the lower containers there is a bathroom, technical facilities, storage and one guest room. There are four rooms in the upper container with a terrace. The whole hotel is designed as a demountable, maximally self-sufficient and environmentally friendly.


Description by Contemporist

Artikul Architects have designed this small boutique hotel named ContainHotel (because it’s made from shipping containers), in Treboutice, Czech Republic.

Designed to be easily movable, the seasonal hotel had its first location on a surf campsite alongside the Elbe riverbank.

Made from three shipping containers, it was completed in just four months with a total of five rooms and able to accommodate 13 guests.

Upstairs, there are four rooms accessed through a shared terrace. All the rooms have one large floor-to-ceiling window, so that despite the small size of the rooms, they still feel airy and have views of the surrounding area.

Inside the rooms, the walls and ceilings are finished in birch plywood, as is all of the custom designed furniture.

When it gets hot in the summer, an awning is attached above rooms and the facades are covered with waste wood planks from a nearby sawmill to block the direct sun.

The lower level of the shipping container hotel is home to one four-bed guest room, as well as the bathroom facilities, a technical room and a storeroom.

The shipping containers are placed only on railroad sleepers. Each container functions separately and are connected only to a local electric power source. The container with the bathroom facilities has an inbuilt water reservoir to supply showers and sinks, which are equipped with water-saving taps.


Description by stavba.tzb-info.cz

Architecture, interiors and design are the passion of young architects from the ARTIKUL studio, who designed a small mobile hotel from used shipping containers for a brave investor. Its first location fell on a surf camp between the Elbe and a busy railway line - after that it was professionally named Hotel Trainspotting.

The task for the architects from the ARTIKUL studio was to design a mobile, easily dismantled seasonal hotel from three shipping containers. In addition, so that the building is as self-sufficient and environmentally friendly. The whole building with five rooms for a total of thirteen guests was completed in about four months.

The unique hotel consists of two twenty-foot containers and a high forty-foot container transversely placed on them. In the lower containers there is a bathroom, technical facilities, storage and one quadruple room. There are four rooms in the upper container. These are entered through a common terrace with a beautiful view of the river and the countryside, on the first hills of the Bohemian Central Mountains. All rooms have one wall completely glazed. They create a feeling of airiness over a small area and allow contact from the interior with the surrounding landscape.




The containers are stored only on railway sleepers, they work completely independently and autonomously, they are connected only to the local source of electricity. The container with social facilities has a built-in capacitive water tank for showers and washrooms, where timers and aerators are installed on the faucets for maximum water savings.

Only ecological biodegradable soaps and shampoos are used in the hotel, and modern separation bowls are installed in the toilets. To prevent the rooms from overheating in summer, the glass walls of the upper container are shielded by an awning and the facades are lined with sunshades made of waste laths and landscapes from a nearby sawmill.

The walls and ceilings of all rooms are lined with birch plywood, from which all completely atypical furniture is made. The rooms are distinguished by different colors of natural marble floors and complemented by black industrial lighting and details, as well as in a container with bathroom facilities. There is also a trapezoidal sheet metal of containers in the interior, in combination with terrace boards on the floor.

Economic and minimalist solutions of the used elements and materials are combined with the philosophy of the hotel referring to modern nomadism, seaside beach atmosphere or boat theme. This is evoked by the dark blue containers themselves with the original graphics, as well as round windows and railings made of ship ropes and textile nets.






















Floor Plans / Drawings















About ARTIKUL architects





We are ARTIKUL architects. We are based in Prague and Vienna, our passion for architecture and design has united us since 2013. We oppose the Czech stereotype that the architect only comes up with development projects. We believe that it is possible to design and positively influence your surroundings on a large or small scale. We can handle a market stall as well as interiors, family houses or public spaces. We like to innovate well-established procedures, we are inspired by non-traditional forms and sustainable solutions, but the individual wishes of the client and the context of the place are the most important for us. We always follow the rule that what is beautiful must be functional at the same time. Contact us with your wishes and dreams. We will listen to you patiently and when we agree, we will take care of your project gently, responsibly, creatively, according to your desires and to the best of our ability.

Article team: Ing. arch. Jakub Vlcek, Ing. Pavel Lejdar, Ing. Jan Gabriel, Ing. Jana Kusbachova, Ing. Eva Svobodova, Ing. Silvie Krcilova, MgA. Sandra Faragula


AddressPristavni 15, 170 00 Praha 7-Holesovice, Czechia
Phone 1+420 775 911 782
Phone 2+420 603 546 909
Phone 3+420 606 706 765
Websitehttps://www.artikul.eu/




Economic and Minimalist Solutions in Self-Sufficient and Movable Shipping Container Hotel, Czech Republic