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Architect Rocio Romero designs ADUs that are conceived as studios, backyard offices, guest cottages, and short-term getaways. She’s sold over 50 prefab units in 17 different states, and recently launched a series of more modestly sized, construct-it-yourself structures dubbed the Camp series. The 456-square-foot Base Camp and 312-square-foot Fish Camp will both be priced in the $20,000 range. At just over 300 square feet, the Fish Camp is the smaller of the two Camp styles, but the prototype illustrates its utility as guesthouse or office.

A narrow and long 8 by 40 feet empty steel shipping container in an artists’ community in San Antonio, Texas serves a playhouse, garden retreat, and guesthouse for visiting creatives.

The Fish Camp acts as the couple’s forest getaway, just a quarter mile from their main house.

The architect and his team devised an armature on the back of the container that will eventually be covered with vines, concealing the AC and heating unit, the reservoir for graywater and the composting toilet outlet.

The roof of this residence was made from scraps taken from the sides of the shipping containers. Its slanted design creates a wind tower effect that provides natural ventilation and negates the need for air-conditioning.

Adriance House by Adam Kalkin. Photo from Quik Build: Adam Kalkin's ABC of Container Architecture. Courtesy of Adam Kalkin.

“Stacey hopes that we can use this as a prototype for a development of artists’ studios someday—we talked about maybe siting several of them together, like an old mobile home park.” The steel sculpture is by San Antonio artist George Shroeder.

"When we designed the layout, we took into account the average size of the user's body and the way they move and perceive the space,