With a few flatbed lorries and a crane, an empty space can, inside a few hours, turn into a shopping center, an exhibition space, an apartment complex, or a disaster relief camp.

Unfortunately, the very standard sizes that make such containers so useful also imposes limits. However you stack them, the containers are still a collection of uniform oblongs.

Having developed containers that can load and unload themselves, Excalibur Shelters has continued to think outside the box with the creation of the X-Tainer – a standard size shipping container that unfolds into very large shelters and pavilions.

The X-Tainer incorporates a series of folding panels inside itself. Once installed on site, the X-Tainer opens and the panels fold out to form walls in any of a number of selected configurations – each of which can be fitted with a bespoke membrane roof. The walls themselves can be fitted with electrical outlets, basic plumbing, monitors and television screens, speakers, and other gear.