Class XII student builds a classroom from a shipping container

When a construction project ends, the workers move to the next site, and their children move with them. Every move can mean losing a school. Divit Garg, a Class 12 student at Inventure Academy, Bengaluru, thinks the answer is a school that can move too. He calls it The Unboxed School.

A classroom inside a container

The Unboxed School is a portable classroom and playscape built inside a standard 40-by-8-foot shipping container. It has room for 20 to 25 children, a small washroom at one end and a storage area at the other, which can also work as a smaller classroom for children who need extra learning support.

If families move to another construction site, the container can go with them on a truck. The transport is estimated at about Rs 30,000, depending on the distance.

Where it started

Divit got the idea after teaching Economics in government schools and visiting the labour colonies around construction sites.

"The colonies are incredibly dusty, noisy, and cramped," he told India Today. "Once the parents leave for construction early in the morning, the children are left on their own."

Changing homes, getting admission midway through the school year and language barriers keep many of these children out of regular classrooms.

Beating the heat

Steel containers soak up heat. "In the daytime, shipping containers are like ovens," Divit said. Instead of costly insulation, his design uses heat-reflective paint and passive turbine vents that work without electricity. Solar panels are planned for the final fit-out.

Cost and the first unit

India Today puts the target cost at about Rs 5 lakh, which could vary by location; the project's own announcement says under Rs 10 lakh. A real estate developer is funding the first unit through its CSR budget.

That unit sits on a 420-square-foot concrete platform inside a residential development on Sarjapur–Attibele Road. It is nearing completion and is expected to start running by the end of 2026. Teachers could come from nearby government schools after hours, or from volunteer groups.

Not his first project

In Class 9, Divit won an Honourable Mention at a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign design competition for a playscape meant for a government school. He later gave a TEDx talk on sustainable public spaces for young people and interned at Anthill Creations, which builds low-cost playgrounds from recycled materials.

"Beyond giving them a safe space away from the construction site, I want this project to be able to give all these children basic life and literacy skills that will help them continue their education wherever they go," he said.

He hopes real estate companies will one day build a classroom and playscape into every project.

Website: theunboxedschool.org

Sources

• India Today, Bengaluru Class 12 student designs Rs 5 lakh portable school for migrant workers' children (Oct 24, 2026)
• CSRBOX, Bengaluru Student Develops Portable Classroom for Children of Migrant Construction Workers (Oct 23, 2026)