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December 2, 2016 / Written by Kaity Teer / Photographed by Andrew Latreille
LUMINOUS, EXPRESSIVE, METICULOUSLY CRAFTED: THESE AREN’T TERMS TYPICALLY USED TO DESCRIBE CONTRACTORS’ WORKSITE OFFICES. But Patrick Powers, owner of Vancouver-based Powers Construction, wanted the best for his project managers, who spend long days overseeing the company’s residential and commercial work on building sites. “Working out of a truck or a cold, damp, shoddily built trailer with a tiny window”—the typical arrangement—“is uncomfortable, inefficient, and depressing,” he says.
Determined to come up with a better option, four years ago he transformed a 20-foot-long shipping container into two mobile offices, outfitting the interiors with whitewashed siding, raw mild steel tiles, and floor-to-ceiling windows that let in ample light and gave managers expansive views of surrounding jobsites. |
Client and employee reactions to these beta offices were so overwhelmingly positive that this past summer, Powers converted a 40-foot shipping container into an additional 16-foot office and a 24-foot head office featuring a boardroom table for client meetings, sliding glass walls with assemblies he rigged out of Rollerblade wheels, and a graffiti installation by local creative studio Chairman Ting Industries. His crews affectionately nicknamed them the “site cans,” but there’s nothing canned about their intent: “They’re a nod to the caliber of the architects, designers, clients, and contractors we work with,” Powers explains. “They make a tremendous impact on the overall tone of our projects.”
PNW Architects
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