Hi everyone! My name is Lisa Zaretskaya. I would like to draw your attention to my 11^th report related to Recycled shipping containers become an art.

The theme for our report is about 'Regional or national environment that is so iconic to introduce to others though it is not well known internationally'. In this regard, I would like to tell you about one of my travels. At the end of January 2019, my family went to travel to the East of Taiwan. We went to the city of Hualien. It is located on the east coast of Taiwan on the Pacific Ocean. This is the area where aboriginal Amis peoples live. Hualien experiences a tropical rainforest climate that closely borders on a humid subtropical climate. The city experiences significant rainfall year round and the temperature there averages 23.4 °C.

One morning we went on a city tour. We had many stops to see the sights of the area. One stop was in the city center near the cafe Starbucks which is located in a tourist destination known for its cuisine and beautiful landscape facing the Pacific Ocean. This cafe Starbucks was built from recycled shipping containers. It was very interesting, beautiful and unusual!

The Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has used 29 used shipping containers to form the store’s structure (it’s 320 square meters and two stories tall). 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. The store is designed to help bring people together over coffee. Inside, the containers feature create warm and comfortable seating areas for customers. From one end of the container, customers can enjoy views of the beautiful mountain range. The other end is decorated with graphics that tell coffee stories. 

 Thank you for your attention.