Drive Thru Starbucks at Tukwila

Inspiration for the shipping container drive thru came from the company’s use of the containers to ship their coffee and tea from sources around the world. Rather than let the containers wallow after moving their goods, the brilliant minds in Seattle thought to put them to good use and so the Reclamation Drive Thru was brewed up. So far, it’s just a one-off shop, but it could serve as the prototype for future retail locations.

Although it’s not certified yet, the company hopes to achieve LEED soon, which will make the shop the first LEED building in Tukwila. They’ve reduced signage by using the actual building as the sign and also integrated rainwater harvesting and xeriscaping to minimize water consumption. Frankly we’re happy that the coffee giant is jumping on the green bandwagon as their growing interest can help push sustainability and design further. We can’t particularly say we’re please that the latest shop is a drive-thru, but at least they included other strategies to reduce the impact.

The new coffee shop opened on December 13th and is plying Washingtonians with their Christmas Blend as we speak. We had a chance to check in with representatives from Starbucks to find out more about their newest store. Read on to get the skinny (as in latte) on what could soon be the standard Starbucks coffee shop.