Continuing our feature of the recipients of 2009 AIA Housing Awards with this project, located on a remote ranch in far West Texas in the vicinity of Big Bend National Park, 26 miles from the nearest town.

The owner desired a retreat that was economically and quickly constructed, which would cause a minimal impact on the chosen building site. Recycled shipping containers were chosen as the primary building component for their compact size and ready availability.

A distant rail line is one of the few man-made intrusions into the vast, pristine landscape. Occasional passing trains are typically loaded with shipping containers, providing a subtle yet intermittently obvious contextual reference for the use of containers as a primary building component of the compound.

The Jury for the 2009 AIA Housing Awards had these comments: "No maintenance necessary—it gets closed up, you arrive, you have five boxes, you open the ones you need and it transforms itself into a little camp-like retreat… while you watch the trains go by."


Project details and credits:

Project: Cinco Camp – Brewster County, Texas
Architect: Rhotenberry Wellen Architects
Owner: Roger Black
Engineer: Alan D. Holmes
General Contractor: Ekstrom Construction
Photo Credit: © Hester + Hardaway