Desks and Furniture
Desks, chairs, and storage furniture sized to the single-room or split floor plan.
20ft Container Office: Standard Portable Site Office
- Size
- 20ft High Cube
- Floor area
- ~12 m²
- Crew
- 2 to 3 people
- Layouts
- Single / split
Request a Quote for the 20ft Container Office
6,058 × 2,438 × 2,896 mm external on a high cube shell, around 12 m² of fitted floor space. 50 mm EPS panel lining, switchboard with RCD protection, LED lighting, and a reverse-cycle split system recessed within the 20ft transport footprint.
Built to the ISO 668 20ft envelope. NCC-compliant fit-out materials, AS/NZS 3000 electrical, AS/NZS 3500 on plumbed options, and Region D wind-load engineering documentation for cyclone-region deployments.
Project offices, induction points, and document stores on construction sites, mine sites, ports, and energy projects. Ships as a standard 20ft container and is placed by crane, tilt tray, or side-loader.
Overview
The market-standard portable site office
The 20ft container office is the market-standard portable site office: around 12 m² of fitted workspace for a crew of two to three, built as an office from day one rather than converted from a used cargo box. SCS Global manufactures it factory-direct at our Yixing, Jiangsu facility and ships it worldwide as a standard 20ft container. It's the default size in the SCS container office range , the reference point for the other sizes. Each unit leaves the factory lined, wired, and air conditioned, in single-room or partitioned layouts, across all three fit-out tiers.
Specifications
20ft Site Office Specifications
A 20ft site office measures 6,058 × 2,438 × 2,896 mm externally on a high cube shell and provides around 12 square metres of fitted floor space. The high cube height (2,896 mm) is the build basis for top-spec units, while lower-tier builds use the standard-height 2,591 mm general purpose shell. Both footprints sit on the ISO 668 20ft envelope, so the finished office handles, stacks, and ships like any other 20ft container. The standard 20ft container office layout is a single open room, with partitioned office-and-storage or office-and-ablution splits set at order. Our container office specifications and sizing guide compares the 10ft, 20ft, and 40ft footprints against crew size and site space. Weight rows are category reference values for a fitted 20ft office, not plated figures. We confirm plated tare, max gross weight (MGW), and payload at quote stage.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| External dimensions, high cube build (L × W × H) | 6,058 × 2,438 × 2,896 mm (20' × 8' × 9'6" nominal) |
| External dimensions, general purpose build | 6,058 × 2,438 × 2,591 mm (20' × 8' × 8'6" nominal, lower-tier builds) |
| Internal dimensions (category reference) | 5,770 × 2,150 × 2,440 mm |
| Floor space | ~12 m² |
| Tare weight (category reference) | 3,340 kg |
| Max gross weight (category reference) | 10,000 kg |
| Payload (category reference) | 6,660 kg |
| Shell construction | Purpose-built new 20ft high cube corrugated Corten steel shell (top tier), one-trip or cargo-worthy shells on lower tiers |
| Wall and ceiling insulation | 50 mm EPS sandwich panel (standard), 50 mm PIR fire-rated panel (mine-spec) |
| Flooring | Heavy-duty commercial vinyl (standard), 150 mm coved vinyl (mine-spec), timber or plywood (budget tier) |
| Electrical fit-out | Switchboard with RCD safety switches, LED lighting, GPO outlets, internal and external lighting |
| Air conditioning | Reverse-cycle split system, externally recessed within the 20ft transport footprint |
| Fire safety | Hard-wired smoke detector with battery backup |
| Personnel access | Lockable steel PA door with lockbox |
| Windows | Sliding aluminium windows with security bars and mesh or lockable shutters, flyscreens fitted |
| Data and comms | Phone and data connection provision |
Fitout
Standard Fitout Options
Every unit ships fitted: 50 mm insulated panel lining, a switchboard with RCD protection, LED lighting, GPO outlets, and a reverse-cycle split air conditioner recessed into the external wall, so the unit never grows beyond its 20ft transport footprint. Lining is EPS as standard, PIR fire-rated on mine-spec builds. Flooring runs commercial vinyl, 150 mm coved on mine-spec, timber or plywood on budget tiers. A hard-wired smoke detector covers fire safety, and access is a lockable steel PA door with barred, flyscreened windows. These choices fix the 20ft container office design at order, so there's no local retrofit work when the unit lands.
Shell Basis
20ft Shipping Container Office Features
A 20ft shipping container office is built on a corrugated Corten steel shell. Three shell bases exist in this market: repainted cargo-worthy boxes, one-trip shells, and the basis SCS engineers its top-spec offices on, a new 20ft high cube shell fabricated as an office from the start, with apertures framed during fabrication rather than cut in after years of cargo service. Ask which shell a quoted office is built on: it's the spec that most affects structural life, and the one most quotes leave out. Every 20ft site office container in our range states its shell basis on the build sheet.
Compliance
Compliance and Certification
Compliance runs in two layers. The shell layer covers ISO 668 dimensions and CSC container-safety certification for international transport, confirmed per build at quote stage. The fit-out layer covers NCC-compliant materials where the unit is classified as a building on Australian sites, the AS/NZS 3000 Wiring Rules for the switchboard, RCDs and lighting circuits, and AS/NZS 3500 wherever a kitchenette or ablution option adds plumbing. Cyclone-region deployments add Region D wind-load engineering documentation under AS/NZS 1170, and mine-spec builds add smoke alarms, exit lighting and illuminated safety signage, certifiable with engineering documentation.
ISO 
Bureau Veritas 
DNV 
Lloyd's Register 
BIC 
ABS Configuration Options
Order-Stage Options
Order-stage options are configured and installed at the factory, so the unit lands finished rather than with a local trades list. The standard option set covers the items below; requirements outside it are engineered as custom fit-outs.
Partitions and Shelving
Factory-fitted partitions and shelving for storage splits, documents, tools, or PPE.
Roof Ventilation
Solar or whirlybird roof vents for the hours the air conditioning is off.
Stairs and Access Ramps
External stairs and access ramps for raised pads and footings.
Custom Painting and Branding
Factory-applied exterior painting and company branding in corporate colours.
Phone and Data Provision
Phone and data connections run during the build.
Hoarding Platform
A 10 kPa hoarding platform option for Australian sites.
Applications
Applications and Use Cases
20ft site offices run project administration on construction sites, mine sites, ports, and energy and infrastructure projects. On a construction project the unit lands with site establishment and works as the project office, induction point, and document store until demobilisation. Mine sites order the mine-spec build, which adds RCD protection, smoke alarms, exit lighting, and illuminated safety signage, and is certifiable with engineering documentation for site compliance reviews. Ports, energy, and infrastructure operators use the same 20ft portable site office for gate administration, permit issue, and shift supervision. Because the fitted unit still ships as a standard container, relocating it between projects is a routine container movement rather than an oversize transport job, which is why the 20ft remains the size most operators standardise on.
Construction & Infrastructure
The unit lands with site establishment and works as the project office, induction point, and document store until demobilisation.
Mining & Resources
Mine sites order the mine-spec build: RCD protection, smoke alarms, exit lighting, and illuminated safety signage, certifiable with engineering documentation.
Oil, Gas & Energy
Ports, energy, and infrastructure operators use the same 20ft portable site office for gate administration, permit issue, and shift supervision.
Military & Defence
Site administration and induction points at defence facilities and forward operating bases, delivered fitted as standard container freight.
Fleet programs of 20 to 50 units get one build standard and one QA chain direct from the factory.
Request a Quote for the 20ft Container Office
Engineering Resources
Engineering Resources and Downloads
The specification table above always carries the current figures. For tender submissions and design reviews, a dimensioned technical drawing, a full spec sheet, and a compliance documentation summary are available on request with your quote.
PDFOn request
20ft Container Office Spec Sheet
Full specification matrix and fit-out options for tender and design review.
DownloadPDFOn request
20ft Container Office Technical Drawing
Dimensioned plan, elevation, and section drawings.
DownloadPDFOn request
Compliance Documentation Summary
One-page summary of ISO 668, NCC, AS/NZS 3000 and AS/NZS 3500 scope for the fitted unit.
DownloadRelated Products
Explore the container office range
Sister products in the SCS container office range, built on the same shells and the same fit-out baseline at the Yixing factory.
10ft Container Office
Compact single-occupant office that ships as a joined pair in one 20ft high cube freight slot and separates on site.
10ft container office
40ft Container Office
Around 26 m² of floor area with partitioned multi-room layouts, independent climate zones, and kitchenette options.
40ft container office
Custom Container Offices
Fit-out and format options engineered to brief: ablutions, kitchenettes, expandable formats, and branded finishes.
custom container officesFAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions procurement and site teams ask most often about the 20ft site office.
What are the dimensions of a 20ft site office?
External dimensions are 6,058 × 2,438 × 2,896 mm (L × W × H) on the high cube build, or 2,591 mm high on a general purpose shell. Fitted floor space is around 12 m², enough for a crew of two to three with desks and storage.
How much does a 20ft site office cost?
Pricing is factory-direct and depends on the shell basis, fit-out tier, and options like ablution plumbing or mine-spec electrical. We don't publish a list price because no two site offices leave the factory identical. Request a quote with your configuration and we'll price the exact build.
Can a 20ft site office include a toilet?
Yes. The office-and-ablution split partitions the unit into a workspace and a plumbed toilet section with twin PA doors, one for each side. Plumbing is fitted at the factory to AS/NZS 3500. For showers, kitchenettes, or layouts beyond the standard splits, see our custom fit-out options.