Café built from recycled shipping containers opens in Taiwan

Starbucks has opened a store in Taiwan built from recycled shipping containers. The 320-square-metre, two-story café uses 29 containers to form its structure. It is the first retailer to open a storefront in the yet-to-be launched Hualien Bay Mall. “This drive thru location is built to meet customer needs, both today and in the long-term,” Starbucks says in a press release. Japanese architect Kengo Kuma designed the venue. He also developed Starbucks Japan’s Fukuoka store and the exterior of the upcoming Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Tokyo. Starbucks says this is the first time Kuma has used shipping containers for his designs and was inspired by the foliage of coffee trees combined with the traditional Chinese bucket arch. “The stacking of the shipping containers created a much taller space and provides natural sunlight through the various skylights found throughout the structure,” Starbucks says. Starbucks recently announced its Greener Stores initiative which will be a framework to design, build and operate sustainable stores around the world.