BOXPARK Croydon is the second project for BOXPARK, the brainchild of CEO Roger Wade. Building on the success of the BOXPARK Shoreditch scheme, BOXPARK Croydon takes the brand thinking a stage further to create a unique street food, restaurant & event venue formed entirely out of up-cycled shipping containers. Built on a gateway site next to East Croydon Station in South East London, BOXPARK provides a temporary ‘meanwhile use’ on the final phase of Stanhope / Schroders ‘Ruskin Square development.

Unlike the original ShoreditchBOXPARK, where the containers are simply arranged end on to the street, at Croydon 98 shipping containers, stacked 3 high, are arranged in two parallel rows around a central events space. The site topography and location has enabled the design team to provide multiple entrances, from the elevated Station concourse and newly-formed ‘Ruskin Walk’ to entrances off George Street &Dingwall Road.

Unlike Shoreditch BOXPARK, Croydon is 100% Food and Beverage with 40 food operators able to take units ranging in size from individual 20ft kiosks, to larger 40ft containers, which can themselves be combined into multiple units (with either 8ft or 40ft side openings) ranging in size from one to five 40ft containers. Smaller units are generally to be found on the ground floor, and larger units on the first floor. The smaller ground floor units benefit from their proximity to the central events space, and the larger first floor units benefit from individual external terraces.

The central events space is weather protected by an over-sailing polycarbonate roof, and glazed screens at either end. As well as providing a place for dining, the space will be managed and curated by BOXPARK to provide a social focus and a variety of eventswhich drive footfall.

The scheme is built from 98 upcycled shipping containers, of which only four are unaltered from their original form. The containers were made in China and shipped to the UK where they were modified by Bullman Marine in their yard in Barking working to drawings provided by BDP. The structural container ‘stack’ has been integrated &co-ordinated with a significant steelwork package (also designed by BDP C+S) polycarbonate roof & provides structural support to other secondary elements.