We absolutely love it when people talk about our la Boîte projects. Even if they use the term "quirky," we get that they are raving about the design and sustainable ideas inherent in "the Box"
laBOITE
February 21, 2012
December 12, 2011
Big Boy flattery
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so we are duely flattered that the big boys over at Starbuck's are opening up their own shipping container coffee shop. While we surely beat Starbuck's to the punch, it's likely that we weren't the first to get a full time coffee shop open in a repurposed shipping container. While we may not have been the first, we sure blazed a trail of good design, and pushed the envelope of shipping container coffee-shop-dom! Either way we'll take the flatteryand the imitation!
(photo credit: Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com)
The good folks over at State Impact/NPR picked up on the story and gave us a nice shoutout for all three of our shipping container based projects to date. I'm sure they'll be happy to know that there are more projects like that on the boards. Info on those projects to drop soon.
May 20, 2011
May 08, 2011
Getting set
The second la Boite box is pushing forward for the final few days of work before permitting and setting it up on site. Plumbing has gone in, cabinets and fridges, have been set, and the folding window wall has been glazed. All that's left on the insides of the trailer are the setting of the sinks, final electrical trim-out, mini-split AC install, and various minor trim bits. Masking off of logos and exterior paint are up soon after!
March 24, 2011
la Boîte, part deux
While we've been playing around in dumpster pools, roasting pigs, building a sushi trailer, and enjoying SXSW2011 maybe a little too much, we've also been busy building out a second version of the la Boîte trailer for a new downtown Austin location. This makes the third shipping container-based food trailer we've worked on, and it will be followed by a third la Boîte as well.
There are only minor updates and changes to the general layout. The major change (other than colour) is the need to "shorten" the sliding door due to site constraints (more about that in a future entry...) To that end we hinged a flap of the big sliding door, so that it folds back on itself and creates a little protected area around the tongue when in the open position. The logo will be changed up a little bit from the original, because of the extra exposure of the hinged flap to passers-by at the new site, so we'll have a big "Boîte" on the large section of the slider and a vertical "la Boîte" on the smaller hinged flap.
As before the logos will be masked off before the body of the box is painted. It's gonna be just as pretty as the original.
Today we started the install of the linoleum to the floors rolling up onto the back wall. Similar detail as in the original, but with a larger diameter cove in this incarnation. I'm loving the way it intersects with the door frame. It really calls attention to the continuity of surface.
Expect an opening at the new downtown location in late April or first week of May.
March 08, 2011
Austin Modern
Nice little write-up over at 2Modern featuring a shout-out to La Boîte and sushiBOX. You got to give it to Adrienne. She has pretty good taste in modern!
March 01, 2011
stumble upon
It's funny what you can run across on the net. Like a gorgeous shot of la Boite from over a year ago. It sure is pretty under the lights of a professional photographer...
October 28, 2010
heavy equipment
Tuesday was a big day at the shop. A 18ton crane showed up at the shop to help load two of the boxes to be shipped over to the trailer place for attachment of running gear and tongue for towing. They'll come back to the shop for final fit-out as actual trailers.
Crocker Crane Rental showed up early and prepped to pick the two boxes while we waited a bit for the lowboy tilt-bed towing service truck to show. Once they got here it was a quick and painless lift and set, and the tow truck shuttled the boxes down the street to the trailer shop. All in all it was an exciting yet straight forward day.
In prep for shipping the boxes off to the trailer shop we finalized all the welding on sushiBOX, sheathed-out the interior walls and floor in prep to accept the cleanable interior finish-out, and got the three overhead flaps operable, and prepped and primed the interior exposed steel. We also have pre-fabricated the swing doors, and are currently building out the cabinets in preperation for the return of the box as an actual trailer.
September 19, 2010
insulation
The walls and ceilings have been furred out, the electrical has been roughed in, and the insulation has been sprayed in. Next up: Sheathing out the walls and ceilings and installing interior finishes.
August 17, 2010
dumpsterPOOL party and pigRoast a rousing success
Our first annual dumpster pool party and pig roast was this last saturday and a whole mess of people came out to help us celebrate and raise money for Gulf Restoration Network and the good works they do in and around our nation's largest natural resource. By all accounts the party was a huge success and we are anxiously anticipating a bigger and better version next year.
photo by Erin Franklin of Agence Talent
The set-up included a 20 yard dumpster kitted out as a lap pool. One of our container mods (still under construction as a future La Boite) was set adjacent to the dumpster pool and connected via a small reclaimed wood deck. That container served as the Living Room and lounge area for the pool.
Personal pools were also provided and were quickly taken over as baby pools by the excited kiddos that got to enjoy the party.
photo by Erin Franklin of Agence Talent
The sushiBOX container mod was set up as the kitchen and food service area and worked flawlessly. We served the Cajun specialty Cochon du lait as well as the central Texas specialty BBQ brisket, along with sides of potato salad, vinaigrette cole slaw, pinto beans, bread and butter pickles, and pickled peaches! All topped off with the National Beer of Texas, Lone Star! It was a feast to behold.
photo by Erin Franklin of Agence Talent
photo by Erin Franklin of Agence Talent
photo by Erin Franklin of Agence Talent
photo by Erin Franklin of Agence Talent
photo by Erin Franklin of Agence Talent
