Inspired by its clean lines and artistic community, our firm’s Founding Director, Brett Rhode, made regular trips to Marfa, TX, over the years before venturing into designing a home there. A week before the pandemic shutdown in March 2020, Brett took the staff to the sleepy arts haven for a staff retreat, unaware of what was to come.

During the shutdown and the years that followed, Brett designed and built the modified container home that would ultimately be nestled among the dusty Marfa landscape. Before its shipment across the state to the small town, the shipping container sat next to his home in Austin where he finished out the construction himself, with the help of a few handy staff members who could weld. After an 8-hour trek, 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 the surrounding landscape are inextricably linked.

Unassuming when closed, the storage unit resembles any other among the sprawling views until the large metal panels are opened, revealing full-height glazing—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.

Since its completion, the container home has received recognition from the Chicago Athenaeum’s Future House Award and Global Design News.