Mojave Container Studio

You’d think a modern container home like this would sit in the middle of a metropolitan city, but it’s literally in the middle of nowhere. A few miles north of Joshua Tree National Park in the Mojave Desert, you’ll find this incredible container creation known as the Tim Palen Studio at Shadow Mountain (although it’s not actually close to the real Shadow Mountain).

Built for a film executive who needed a weekend retreat and a film studio on one property, this home packs in a lot. It’s set on about 2.5 acres of desert property and surrounded by sheet metal fencing.

The facility is basically three separate spaces. First is the two-story container apartment, with a living and kitchen area on the bottom and a bedroom on top.

Next to the apartment is the desert room, a modern-day dogtrot that takes the form of a two-storied, open-sided space. It provides shade from the heat of the day while allowing breezes to sweep through. Adjacent to the desert room is the ~1000 square foot studio space, which is a traditionally constructed, high-bay metal building, though it does have a single container jutting out from one side.

Altogether there are six containers on the property, five 20 foot units make up the apartment, and one 20 foot unit is attached to the studio. There’s also a unique galvanized, corrugated metal addition on the far end of the house that holds the staircase.

But don’t confuse it with the 10,000-gallon water tank behind the house that has a similar look. Speaking of unique metal textures, you’ll notice that some parts of the house are sheathed with a perforated metal that provides shade from the punishing desert sun as well as breaking up the elevation view of the home.

This desert container home looks like a lunar base, with its futuristic appearance in a bleak landscape. The design is strong, durable, and environmentally friendly while providing the simplistic luxury and functional capabilities the owner wanted. We love it!