Austin, Texas, USA
Category: Private Homes
Year: 2023
Architects: Rhode Partners
Lead Architect: Brett Rhode
Client: Brett Rhode
General Contractor: Brett Rhode
Photographers: Chase Daniel
Inspired by its clean lines and artistic community, the architect of this project has made regular trips to Marfa over the years before venturing into designing a home there. A week before the pandemic shutdown in March 2020, he took his staff at Rhode Partners, an Austin-based architecture and interiors firm he founded in 2006, to the sleepy arts haven for a staff retreat, unaware of what was to come.
During the shutdown and the years that followed, Rhode designed and built the modified container home that would ultimately be nestled among the dusty Marfa landscape. Before its shipment across seven-hour drive to the small town, the shipping container sat next to his home in Austin where he finished out the construction himself. The container is now situated across the street from the iconic Chinati Foundation, a modern art museum founded by Donald Judd in 1986 in which the art and surrounding landscape are inextricably linked.
Unassuming when closed, the storage unit looks like any other among the sprawling views. When the large metal panels are opened, full-height glazing is exposed. Design details in the shipping container feature white oak paneling, travertine walls and chrome fixtures. Garza Marfa furniture balances the neutral palette with its signature bold colors and warm leather finishes.
