New York shipping container penthouse for sale for $1.29 million

We’ve seen a lot of homes made from shipping containers, but they’re not usually as central as this.

An industrial-chic shipping container penthouse in midtown Manhattan has come up for sale with a price guide of $US995,000 ($A1.29 million), as reported by The Spaces.

Mere steps from the Empire State Building, it boasts dramatic views of that iconic landmark thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows — a departure from the many converted shipping containers on larger blocks in regional locations.

The one-bedroom apartment was added on top of the original building. It features a main living area that used to be the building’s mechanical room, plus a loft space made from a six-metre shipping container.

A wraparound outdoor terrace offers views and space to entertain.

It’s the brainchild of design studio LOT-EK, which kept gritty details such as concrete walls and exposed steel pipes, as well as newspaper dispensers repurposed as shelves.

And, the new resident will get their exercise climbing up the interior ladder that connects the living room with the upstairs level.

Shipping container homes are often seen as part of the solution to worsening housing affordability, and also offer opportunities for a creative architectural transformation.

Stylish designs have popped up everywhere from Long Island and upstate New York to northern Victoria and the North Island of New Zealand.