A new Starbucks in Seattle was recently built from four old shipping containers. Located in Tukwila, WA the store is a drive-thru and walk-up coffee shop made of one 30-foot container and three 40-foot shipping containers. It is the first LEED-certified structure in town, and uses recycled metal for the exterior and has a rainwater collector system that collects water for the plants around the building’s exterior.
Since it is a walk-up/drive thru station, cars line up and go through the drive through window, with motors running, burning gas. (Not sure how this factors into the actual energy saving rating of the business.)
Shipping containers are on the rise as being used as usable livable spaces with recent uses being some restaurants in San Francisco, a grocery store in Seattle, for artist studios, and for living spaces. Most shipping containers become part of a landfill after 20 years, so in using the containers as living spaces –their use is considered upcyling. Got an idea that you could do in a used shipping container? I just looked online – and they are listed online starting at $2,399.
Images:
Tom Ackerman, Starbucks
Links:
Tukwila, WA Starbucks store