Backyard Box is a line of customizable Backyard Cottages that we designed in collaboration with Sloan Ritchie of Cascade Built. They were intended to respond to the recent passage of Seattle’s Backyard Cottage Ordinance. In early 2010, Method Homes sponsored a city-wide Backyard Cottage Design Challenge, and Backyard Box won in the Most Sustainable category, and Best of Show!

What is a Backyard Box? It’s a Modern, Sustainable, Affordable alternative for those considering a Backyard Cottage. With the recent passage of Seattle’s Backyard Cottage Ordinance (yay!), Detached Accessory Dwelling Units are now allowed throughout the City.

As a way to increase the amount and availability of housing options in single-family neighborhoods, and thus help to reduce sprawl, loss of community, reliance on automobiles, etc., we salute the City of Seattle for taking this important step.

As consumers find themselves in need of a little extra space for:

• a home office or studio

• aging parents or boomerang kids

• a guest house

• income via a new rental property

or a mix of these, a Backyard Box will fit the bill. Backyard Boxes are turn-key homes – a homeowner has merely to choose a model from the catalog, along with a Finish Package and available Options (e.g. a Green Roof or Rainwater Catchment system), and the home will be permitted for their lot, fabricated, delivered to the site, erected, and completely finished inside and out. Each Backyard Box will be customized for its site layout, relationship to the main house, topography, solar access etc.

These homes can be designed and built to target the Passive House Standard, a building methodology that results in houses 75- 90% more energy-efficient than conventional structures. With little additional investment (i.e. a small PV array, available as an Option), they can be truly Net Zero-Energy homes. Jim Burton, the architect of the Backyard Boxes, is a Certified Passive House Consultant. Sloan Ritchie, owner of Cascade Built, has been at the forefront of green and sustainable building in the Seattle area for several years, building some of Seattle’s first LEED certified, and certified Passive House homes.

The Backyard Boxes are all ADA Adaptable (the Small Box is shown with the Accessible Bathroom option). They are designed as variations on a theme, yet each have their own distinctive character.

Love your home and neighborhood, but need more space? We have the solution – a Backyard Box!

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