We take a 15-year-old shipping container and reinvent it as a backyard getaway
Written bySunsetJune 16, 2011
Share this story
Photo by E. Spencer Toy
1 of 7Photo by E. Spencer Toy
Blank slate
What started as a blank slate in a corner of our parking lot, quickly transformed into the Sunset Make It Your Own home and garden. Unexpected rains didn’t dampen the excitement for the arrival of our shipping container home.
Photo by E. Spencer Toy
2 of 7Photo by E. Spencer Toy
Here comes the house
Seattle’s HyBrid Architecture designs homes from recycled shipping containers. The Sunset Cargotecture home was built in three weeks at the OneBuild http://www.onebuildinc.com/ factory in Oregon. Here it is arriving at our campus.
Photo by E. Spencer Toy
3 of 7Photo by E. Spencer Toy
Instant home
Once we position the container, we have three days to install and furnish the garden—designed by Hindesign—in time for Celebration Weekend.
Photo by E. Spencer Toy
4 of 7Photo by E. Spencer Toy
Birds and bees
We fill the garden with drought-tolerant plants that attract birds and bees. Edged with a dry-stack rock wall, this spot for bees features the modern Hex Hive.
Photo by E. Spencer Toy
5 of 7Photo by E. Spencer Toy
Nature’s art
Succulent orbs created by DIG Gardens are a soft contrast to the container’s box architecture.
Photo by E. Spencer Toy
6 of 7Photo by E. Spencer Toy
A place to roost
What’s a modern backyard without a chicken coop? The KippenHouse offers a mod space for your hens, with a garden roof for your veggies.