diff --git a/container/src/root/common/utility.hh b/container/src/root/common/utility.hh
index 9bb107e..01c5cf9 100644
--- a/container/src/root/common/utility.hh
+++ b/container/src/root/common/utility.hh
@@ -421,8 +421,52 @@ class PluggablePath
 //! \since docker-finance 1.1.0
 class PluggableSpace
 {
+ public:
+  //! \brief Parses (or re-parses) constructed types
+  //! \warning Only call this function after constructing if underlying type::PluggableSpace has been changed (post-construction)
+  //! \return NPI reference
+  auto& parse()
+  {
+    auto const parser = [](const std::string& space) -> std::string {
+      std::string parsed{space};
+
+      // NOTE: allowed to be empty (for now)
+      if (!parsed.empty())
+        {
+          throw_ex_if<type::RuntimeError>(
+              !std::regex_match(
+                  parsed,
+                  std::regex{
+                      "[a-zA-Z0-9:/_\\-]+"} /* TODO(unassigned): refine */),
+              "invalid characters in namespace");
+
+          if (parsed.find('/'))
+            {
+              parsed = std::regex_replace(parsed, std::regex{"/"}, "::");
+            }
+          if (parsed.find('-'))
+            {
+              parsed = std::regex_replace(parsed, std::regex{"-"}, "_");
+            }
+        }
+
+      return parsed;
+    };
+
+    m_space.outer(parser(m_space.outer()));
+    m_space.inner(parser(m_space.inner()));
+
+    return *this;
+  }
+
  protected:
-  explicit PluggableSpace(const type::PluggableSpace& space) : m_space(space) {}
+  // \note Since the current presumption is that a PluggableSpace is likely
+  //   to be derived from an operating system path (via PluggablePath),
+  //   there's leeway for path-to-namespace conversions to be done here.
+  explicit PluggableSpace(const type::PluggableSpace& space) : m_space(space)
+  {
+    parse();
+  }
   ~PluggableSpace() = default;
 
   PluggableSpace(const PluggableSpace&) = default;