Last year a real-life county parks department in Washington state sponsored a contest that sounded like just the sort of thing Amy Poehler would dream up on Parks and Rec: Transform a surplus cargo container into a permanent campground cabin. And make it cozy.
The winner, Seattle-based HyBrid Architecture, already has a Cargotecture line of re-purposed shipping containers—perhaps you saw last year's Sunset Idea House in northern California? For Kings County's Toit-MacDonald Park campground, HyBrid's cabin is designed to sleep four and will have a kitchenette. And it's portable, so it can be moved to different locations in the county's 26,000 acres of parkland.
Above: This Cargotecture cabin is already in use as a guesthouse on a rural property near Seattle. Says HyBrid Architecture's principal and co-founder Joel Egan, "These containers are fun, emotional, curious, and durable." Image via HyBrid Architecture.
Above: Under construction. Soon to be a cabin, the former cargo container has its windows cut, its door installed, and its exterior brushed clean. Next the interior and windows will be framed. Image by Kings County Parks, via Flickr.
Above: HyBrid Architecture collaborated with Sunset Magazine last year to install the Nomade C192. It's a 192-square-foot container home. Image via Sunset.
Above: These doors on the Sunset Idea House open to a deck and let air and light flow through. Image via Sunset.
Above: The C192 has a small kitchen, living space, and built-in-bedding. Joel Egan describes it: "It's a rough shell on the outside, comfortable space on the inside." Image via Sunset.