Columbus, Ohio is now home to what is probably the world’s most unique parking booth. The firm behind the design, JBAD architects, turned an old shipping container on its end to create a 40-foot-tall red tower that provides a striking contrast with the surrounding buildings. The new city landmark will be used as a parking attendant booth but has additional flexible space that could be used for a variety of services.

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bright red tower shining in the night

Glowing bright red in the evening time, the shipping container tower was designed to stand out against the existing Columbus skyline. According to the architects, “This tower presents the parking booth as a new tower on the city’s skyline, realized at a scale both tall and small, its proportions and monolithic nature mimicking the office towers that surround it.”

tall square tower in front of a building
tall square tower in back of parking lot

Related: 3 stacked shipping containers create a diving tower in Denmark

The architects refurbished the reclaimed shipping container off-site to complete its transformation into a glowing “MicroTower.” As part of the renovation, the architects painted the structure a bright crimson with various lights that turn the MicroTower into a beacon in the night. To outfit the first floor as a proper booth, they installed a polycarbonate lift-and-fold garage door that acts as a shading canopy when open.

tall, red tower at various angles

The structure’s bottom floor was specifically designed to provide enough space for the parking booth attendant to keep an eye on the parking lot. The south and west facades of the shipping container tower have windows that overlook the entire parking area. However, there is plenty of space for other uses. As it is currently, the entire booth only takes up two-thirds of the MicroTower’s total floor space. The rest of the ground floor was left vacant to be used for a variety of services, including food, coffee takeout or bike storage.

+ Jonathan Barnes Architecture and Design (JBAD)

Via Dezeen

Photography by Brad Feinknopf