In Brixton, they are piled on top of each other, are colourful with the patina of years of travelling around the world; in Shoreditch they are black and ordered with military precision along the street. Black is the new uber-trendy colour in Shoreditch, from the rippling facade of Rivington Place to the Pret a Manger at the top of Brick Lane with its black facade, rather than corporate burgundy, and even the bus that passes is painted black.

Old reused shipping containers are the new sustainable building material for projects ranging from student residences in South Africa to “Pop-Up Brixton” and “BoxPark” in Shoreditch.

At “BoxPark”, created in 2011, the containers are lined up underneath the elevated Shoreditch High Street Overground station to create a contemporary shopping and eating mall with the addition tented roofs and heaters to deal with British weather. Founded by Boxfresh entrepreneur Roger Wade with developers Hammerson and Ballymore, BoxPark supports small niche retail brands on the ground floor street front, event spaces and trendy restaurants on the first floor, with caribbean straw umbrellas being a colourful contrast to the rippling black steelwork.

Occupying a small corner of The Goodsyard, a 4.7 hectare site in Bethnal Green Road opposite the Tea Building developed by Derwent London for start-up businesses developed by Derwent London, this is all part of the entrepreneurial renaissance of this part of Shoreditch.