Vancouver builder Patrick Powers was fascinated with shipping containers even before he inherited a 20-footer in 2012, cut it in half, capped the ends with glass, and outfitted the interiors to create portable site offices for his firm, Powers Construction. While spending his days crafting high-end homes in the Pacific Northwest for the likes of Olson Kundig, BattersbyHowat, and Measured Architecture, he has continued to explore the possibilities of mobile, prefabricated structures.

So when Patrick, his wife, Renée, and their two young kids decided to trade their increasingly cramped home in Vancouver for a 104-acre farm on nearby Salt Spring Island, he immediately bought a 53-foot shipping container to serve as the family’s weekend digs during construction of their new primary residence on the property. (When the house is finished this summer, the container will double as a guesthouse and music studio for Renée.)

The first order of business was slicing up the rectangle to accommodate large expanses of glass. The steel-framed openings include a 29-foot-long portal for two 8-by-141/2-foot glass sliders that run the length of the living/dining area. “Shipping containers are like tin cans,” Patrick says. “Once you cut into them, you have to reinforce the building and put the structure back in.”

He and his team then insulated the walls, floors, and ceilings and set to work finishing the 440-square-foot, one-bedroom unit, which will draw a portion of its energy from the new home’s solar panels once they’re operational. The interior is lined in whitewashed and painted pine; the kitchen features floor-to-ceiling fir plywood cabinets, below-counter appliances, and a propane cooktop.

The builder and his family are embracing life on the farm, where they can watch storms blow through while comfortably tucked in front of their wood stove. “The container is super simple, super clean, very modern,” says Patrick. “So often I build beautiful homes and then walk away. This is the first time I’ve been able to design, build, and live in one.”

Project Credits:

Construction: Powers Construction

Structural Engineer: KSM Associates

Metal Fabrication: Sam Carter

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A Shipping Container Provides a Temporary Residence for a Canadian Family