(Photos courtesy of Inhabitat.com)

Having apparently run out of existing physical structures to occupy, Starbucks has begun constructing locations using recycled shipping containers. It takes the asymmetrical assembly of four containers — the type you see barreling down the highway on the back of an 18-wheeler — to construct one of these impromptu shops. The resulting two-story structure, dubbed a Reclamation Drive-Thru, has an industrial but whimsical air, as though a child decided to make a coffee shop out of four haphazardly interlocked Lego bricks.

The first instance of the Reclamation design recently opened in Tukwila, Wash. With no interior searing, the building only accommodates walk up and drive through service. The structure was built to standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program and has applied for LEED certification.

It is a far better way to recycle the shipping containers than Starbucks other idea: a new coffee size, Giganti.

Source: inhabitat.com