A Shipping Container ADU One-Stop Shop Launches in DC

• March 4th 2021

by Nena Perry-Brown

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Interest in accessory dwelling units (ADU) has only increased over the past year, but the process can be daunting, has a learning curve, and misrepresentations are rampant. Now, a local architecture firm is looking to offer a one-stop shop ADU installation experience — including those pesky utility hookups.

Travis Price Architects is partnering on Backyard Container, a firm which aims to simplify the costs and process of getting a functional shipping container ADU installed in your backyard. In order to streamline the process, Backyard Container is offering three typologies: a 180 square foot studio apartment or office, a 320 square foot one-bedroom apartment, or a 640 square foot unit that is a studio apartment above a one-car garage.

Each option has a standard layout and a ceiling height of just over 8 feet, and in addition to the price of the container itself, add-on services include permitting, site work, and installation and finishing, with the on-the-ground work completed by their construction firm KGP Build.

After permits are acquired, the installation process can take roughly 8-12 weeks. The units cannot be customized outside of a choice of exterior color (although one can also commission a custom ADU instead for a higher price), but you can have them uninstalled and relocated to your next home if you decide to move.   

While Travis Price Architects has gotten a lot of interest in large-scale and single-family shipping container developments since their Brookland apartments delivered, Backyard Container is the firm's first foray into ADUs. Thus far, they have delivered a backyard gallery/studio space and are currently in the early contracting phase with a few ADU clients. The ADUs are available within a roughly 60-mile radius of DC proper.

"With the state of the world right now, we felt there was no better time to launch this website to build office space or ancillary space/apartments in folks backyards," senior architect Kelly Davies Grace told UrbanTurf. 

All images courtesy of Travis Price Architects.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to more accurately describe the relationship between Travis Price Architects and Backyard Container. The square footage of the one-bedroom unit has also been corrected.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/a-shipping-container-adu-one-stop-shop/17957.