Brooklyn Dumpster Swimming Pool Idea Could Go Nationwide
July 22, 2009 · Print This Article
Intrepid hipsters have turned dumpsters into an urban version of pickup truck swimming pools, secreted away in a hush-hush location in Brooklyn. What was formerly just a chained-off lot hidden from the street in an industrial part of town is now a “lo-fi country club” with three connected dumpster pools, a boccie court, lounge chairs, grills and cabanas – and this idea might just spread to strip malls across the U.S.
From Treehugger:
As ReadyMade first reported a couple of weeks ago, the idea began in Athens, Georgia. Jocko Weyland, a skater and author, discovered some Dumpster pools made by Curtis Crowe of the band Pylon. The pools have a few years’ history at a smaller scale, and Jocko decided to try them in the wilds of Brooklyn.
He and friends formed a company, Macro-Sea, and, with volunteers, a couple thousand dollars and the donation of roll-off Dumpster, they managed to set up everything in 12 days.
To make it a pool, they sealed the seams, added a liner, filled the bottom with sand, rounded down the interior edges, added a filter, thousands of gallons of water. All that was left was a discreet invite to a few dozen people.
Macro-Sea now plans to use the project as a template for a larger idea: turning strip malls into community destinations complete with green space, skate parks, amphitheaters and artist residences using as many cast-off materials as possible. They hope to open their first repurposed shipping center in Atlanta this fall, with dozens of dumpster pools in the parking lot that visitors can rent by the day.
What a fun way to use stuff that would otherwise be considered ‘junk’. We can’t wait to see what Macro-Sea comes up with in Atlanta – we’ll keep you posted!
Link [Treehugger] + [The New York Times] + [ReadyMade]
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It is a very creative use of dumpsters. Swimming is a good exercise and provides lot of fun.