7,000 Shipping Containers Used to Create Bazaar in Kyrgyzstan

In a remarkable example of adaptive reuse, over <b>7,000</b> <a href="http://inhabitat.com/la-warehouse-office-is-a-shipping-container-city/" target="_blank">shipping containers</a> have been stacked together to create the thriving marketplace in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The kilometer-long <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dordoy_Bazaar" target="_blank">Dordoy Bazaar</a> is considered one of the Asia's greatest public market places, and it is built out of thousands of shipping containers double-stacked under large shade structures. The bazaar first began back in 1992 and it has since grown into an enormous marketplace containing streets, plazas, restaurants, stores and offices.

The Dordoy Bazaar is considered one of the most important markets in Asia, as it serves as the gateway of Chinese goods into the Eastern block.

Shipping containers, likely leftover from importing goods, were repurposed to create shops and storage units for vendors.

Units are often double-stacked - the bottom containers serve as public shops and the top containers provide secure storage for the vendors.

The entire Bazaar is actually made up of multiple markets that stretch up to 1 kilometer long.

A 2005 report estimated that 6,000 to 7,000 containers had been reused to create the market.

Shade structures and pavilions were built to cover the containers and the pedestrian streets to protect the shoppers and vendors from the elements and keep them cool.

There are approximately 20,000 people that work at the Dordoy Bazaar as vendors, security, personal, restaurateurs and more.

Here a diagram of the market displays announcements and tells shoppers where to find various goods.

Food purveyors, grocers, and food vendors set up their little shops in open plazas and streets to tempt shoppers.

The market started in 1992 and it has grown over the years to include streets, plazas, alleyways and utilities.

While not officially a produce market, some produce vendors do set up tables to sell food.

Different sections of the markets specialize in various types of consumer goods, including clothing, shoes, furniture, electronic equipment, toys, automotive supplies, construction materials, etc.

Most of the market is owned by a group of companies called the Dordoi Association.