LOT-EK is the New York-based architect/artist team that pioneered the upcycling of decommissioned shipping containers as building material in architectural projects, environmental interventions and discreet artworks. Founded in 1993 by Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano, LOT-EK is renowned for reimagining sustainable approaches to construction and living.
There are at least fifty million and perhaps 180 million shipping containers in the world. No one seems to know exactly how many, or where they all are. But they are the heart of the global supply chain, pumping consumer products from factories in China to the Amazon delivery vans that deposit what you buy at your doorstep. Ubiquitous and mundane, they are both the vehicle moving products for consumption, and the vehicle LOT-EK utilizes to explore our complicity in the environmental, political, and human costs of a global economy.
Their projects have been realized internationally and their work has been exhibited at and collected by MoMA, the Whitney and Guggenheim Museums in New York, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MAXXI in Rome and SFMoMA, among others.
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LOT-EK#16 3D Pyramid Top+Side+Front Barnacle Table, 2023steel, paint, glass, LED light19 x 96 x 96 in
48.3 x 243.8 x 243.8 cm -
LOT-EK#18 3D Shard Top+Side+Front with Corner Casting Floor Piece, 2023steel, paint, LED light29 1/2 x 15 x 10 in
74.9 x 38.1 x 25.4 cm -
LOT-EK#19 2D Circle Side Wall Piece, 2023steel, paint, LED light94 x 79 x 5 1/2 in
238.8 x 200.7 x 14 cm -
LOT-EK#21B 2D Oval Side Wall Piece, 2023steel, paint, LED light17 1/4 x 25 x 2 1/2 in
43.8 x 63.5 x 6.3 cm -
LOT-EK#22 2D Leftover Rear with Spot Welded Rods Wall Piece, 2023steel, paint94 x 88 x 4 in
238.8 x 223.5 x 10.2 cm -
LOT-EK#23 2D Leftover Side in Two Segments Wall Piece, 2023steel, paint92 x 199 x 2 3/4 in
233.7 x 505.5 x 7 cm -
LOT-EK#27 3D Circle+Triangle Bottom+Side+Rear, 2023steel, paint, plywood, rubber96 x 48 x 30 1/2 in
243.8 x 121.9 x 77.5 cm -
LOT-EK#28 3D Circle Bottom+Side Lounge/Bed, 2023steel, paint, plywood68 x 121 1/2 x 63 in
172.7 x 308.6 x 160 cm
Located north of San Francisco -
LOT-EK#4 3D Rectangle Top+Side Table/Bench, 2023steel, paint, wood18 x 46 x 29 1/2 in
45.7 x 116.8 x 74.9 cm
Located in New York -
LOT-EK#6 3D Circle Side+Top "K" + Letter "C" Table/Bench, 2023steel, paint, wood18 x 86 x 54 in
45.7 x 218.4 x 137.2 cm -
LOT-EK#8 2D Leftover Top Wall Piece, 2023steel, paint77 x 149 x 1 1/4 in
195.6 x 378.5 x 3.2 cm -
LOT-EKSpacer Light 1, 2023steel, rubber, LED strip light20 x 20 x 4 in
50.8 x 50.8 x 10.2 cm -
LOT-EKSpacer Light 3, 2023steel, rubber, LED strip light20 x 20 x 4 in
50.8 x 50.8 x 10.2 cm -
LOT-EKSpacer Light 5, 2023steel, rubber, LED strip light20 x 20 x 4 in
50.8 x 50.8 x 10.2 cm -
LOT-EKSTACK/CUT BOOK, 2019laser-cut vellum, unique11 x 8 1/2 x 3 in
27.9 x 21.6 x 7.6 cm -
LOT-EKSTACK/SHIFT40 SQUARE, 2019four laser-cut up-cycled cardboard boxes, flattened and sprayed with acrylic43 x 51 in
109.2 x 129.5 cm -
LOT-EKURBANSCAN BLOCKS, 2016laser printed by the artists in black ink on bound legal yellow pads, reassembled with red string and Plexiglas. 50 selected images per block, from 56 categories of the UrbanScan.each pad 14 x 8 1/2 in
35.6 x 21.6 cm
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Gathering What Others Spill
David Roth, Squarecylinder.com, December 18, 2023 -
A Cultural Mission goes to the movies for ‘The Golem’ and more
Andrew Gilbert, Missionlocal.org, December 6, 2023 -
Watch how two architect's work upcycling shipping containers is transforming the way we see sustainable living
Jenna Abdou, Fastcompany.com, October 19, 2023
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LOT-EK: SPILL / from 1 to 29 Exhibition Tour
19 Jan 2024Join LOT-EK founders Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano for a tour of their exhibition, SPILL / from 1 to 29 Friday January 19, 4:30pmRead more -
Contemporary Art & Creative RE-use
11 Jan 2024A Conversation with Jodi Roberts, Executive Director of the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art and co-founder of Art + Climate Action and Deborah Munk, Manager...Read more
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Triangle Stack #3, 2020, Domino Park, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
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Drivelines Studios residential and retail building, 2017 (repainted 2023), Maboneng, Johannesburg
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Qiyun Mountain Camp Entrance Pavilion, 2017, Huangshan, China
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Prefabricated container home designed exclusively for C-Home USA
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Google Floating Studios, 2013, exhibition/event space on barge on East and West coasts
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APAP Open School, 2010, Anyang, Korea
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Carroll House, 2016, Brooklyn, NY
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Carroll House, 2016, Brooklyn, NY
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MDU Mobile Dwelling Unit, 2003, exhibited at Whitney Museum of American Art, Walker Art Center, and University Art Museum, UC Santa Barbara
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PUMA City, 2008, mixed-use event, retail, office, leisure/bar space installed at multiple global ports
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Sanlitun North Plaza retail complex, 2006, Beijing, China
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Decommissioned shipping container in process of being cut into pieces for December 2023 exhibition at Hosfelt Gallery
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Decommissioned shipping container in process of being cut into pieces for December 2023 exhibition at Hosfelt Gallery
