New building gives campers a unique place to stay
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SEATTLE -- King County recently unveiled a new building made mostly from recycled materials that will give campers a new way to "rough it" in the outdoors.
The building, which is being called a camping container, is located in Carnation. From the recycled glass benches to a table that was once a door to the re-painted plumber piping, the container takes recycling to a whole new level.
"You're very comfortable (here), and that's what we wanted for people to feel, comfortable," said Sujata Goel of the King County Parks and Recreation Department.
The 24-foot long industrial cargo container was placed inside Tolt-MacDonald Park to be used as a camper. Joel Egan works with HyBrid Architecture, which won the county's sustainability design competition to build the container.
"As a kid, I actually played a lot with Legos," Egan said.
Egan said the container may have a rugged exterior, but inside it's warm and welcoming. On top of that, the container has a unique history.
"It's traveled, well, thousands and thousands of miles, so what kind of things has it seen?" Egan said. "What places it has been? What kinds of storms has it seen on the high seas?"
The new camper is the first of its kind in King County, but it may not be the last.
"We understand that not everyone can strap on a backpack and sleep under the stars and climb mountains," Goel said.
Renting the camping container will cost $50 per night.
The building, which is being called a camping container, is located in Carnation. From the recycled glass benches to a table that was once a door to the re-painted plumber piping, the container takes recycling to a whole new level.
"You're very comfortable (here), and that's what we wanted for people to feel, comfortable," said Sujata Goel of the King County Parks and Recreation Department.
The 24-foot long industrial cargo container was placed inside Tolt-MacDonald Park to be used as a camper. Joel Egan works with HyBrid Architecture, which won the county's sustainability design competition to build the container.
"As a kid, I actually played a lot with Legos," Egan said.
Egan said the container may have a rugged exterior, but inside it's warm and welcoming. On top of that, the container has a unique history.
"It's traveled, well, thousands and thousands of miles, so what kind of things has it seen?" Egan said. "What places it has been? What kinds of storms has it seen on the high seas?"
The new camper is the first of its kind in King County, but it may not be the last.
"We understand that not everyone can strap on a backpack and sleep under the stars and climb mountains," Goel said.
Renting the camping container will cost $50 per night.
It's an interesting use, but if it's for "overnight" how do they expect you to feed yourself when there is no food prep/clean up area? Also, since King County Parks close at dusk & remain closed overnight, are they changing the rule for that park only? What have they budgeted for repairing vandelism? Also, from a safety standpoint, there are no railings for the stairs, so people who are "mobility challenged" would have a hard time navigating up & down with nothing to hold on to.
I love stuff like this, and there are a lot of companies that are repurposing containers for all kinds of applications including that StarBucks a few months back. To the design team, the place is fantastic, to the County yâall are broke and shouldnât be spending tax money you donât have on projects like this. The investment to return just isnât there.Â
Oh, so THATS where those Hurricane Katrina temporary houses went!
@My-celiums No they all came to Eagle Ford.Â
Can these people think another way to use our hard earned tax dollars? Now that I think about it....I might need to move here permanently because of the King County idea of raising car tabs that I just read.Â
I thought the county was broke. I want to see what the price tag on this puppy costs with installation - site prep, concrete piers, environmental impact statement, steps, transportation/setup, septic/water system or outhouse ($100 a month).
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Something tells me $50 a night wouldn't pay this off in 10+ years. There's just so much wrong about this idea. It just invites vandalism.
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kool idea - I will book one - how?
 @readyaim321 http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/rentals/camping.aspx
King Conty is broke. They are cancleing services all over the place and leaving police and fire positions open but, they spend how much on a camping container?? Time for new leadership!!!!
....does it come with a bong & plenty of reloads?
I love the table!