Starbucks Opens Drive-Thru Made from Recycled Shipping Containers in Northglenn, CO

<a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/starbucks/">Starbucks</a> is a company that's know for its uniformity and ubiquity; like it or not, it's found everywhere, and at every store you can order the same drink in tall, grande or venti. But recently, the coffee chain has been devoting more attention to the design of its shops, as evidenced by a recently opened <a href="http://inhabitat.com/starbucks-opens-new-reclamation-drive-thru-made-from-recycled-shipping-containers/">drive-thru made from shipping containers in Seattle</a>. Now, the company has followed up on that high-profile shop with another LEED-certified drive-thru in Northglenn, CO, which is made from two recycled shipping containers clad in reclaimed Wyoming snow fencing.

The new Northglenn location is part of a pilot program launched by Starbucks to open a series of environmentally-friendly coffee shops around the world that push the design envelope.

The green coffee shops are the brainchild of Arthur Rubinfeld, Starbucks' president of global development and architect by trade.

In 2008, Rubinfeld proposed that coffee shop design be held to the same standards as Starbucks' other business practices under the company’s <a href="http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/learn-more/starbucks-shared-planet" target="_blank">Shared Planet Initiative</a>.

Then, <a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670889/an-experimental-new-starbucks-store-tiny-portable-and-hyper-local#1">according to Co.Design</a>, Starbucks opened 14 architectural offices around the world to design its new eco-friendly coffee shops.

The 480-square-foot Northglenn location is just the second shipping container store that Starbucks has opened (after <a href="http://inhabitat.com/starbucks-opens-new-reclamation-drive-thru-made-from-recycled-shipping-containers/">the Seattle flagship</a>), and because it's so small, there is no indoor seating -- it's only intended for drive-thru and walk-up customers.

The diminutive building is made from two shipping containers that are clad in local snow fencing, which conceals the modular structure and gives the shop a warm tone.