A few years ago, living inside a few stacked metal shipping containers may not have been a reality, much less a desirable one. All that has changed with a new recycled living concept by Upcycle Living. 1-800-RECYCLING recently sat down with the partner and co-founder of Upcycle Living, Ashton Wolfswinkel, in a model home built out of four containers in the heart of Phoenix, AZ.
1-800-RECYCLING: How did you get started building with shipping containers?
Wolfswinkel: My partner and architect, Jason Anderson, and I met in college at University of Arizona in Tucson. When he moved up here to Phoenix, he started working on a design-build project for a client in north Phoenix in spring 2009. He spent some time in Europe, where upcycled architecture is more commonplace, so he had a few ideas up his sleeve. The client wanted to do a master suite addition, but he just didn’t have the budget to do it. So, Jason pitched the idea of using shipping containers. We attached three containers to the main house — bedroom, his-and-her closet and bath — about 1,000 square feet of living space.