Dump the Summer Heat

Bringing new meaning to the phrase "dumpster diving" is an urban revamp project/private party in industrial Brooklyn. Dumpsters are given the Cinderella treatment, transforming them into swimming pools. Add a few pool chairs and an iPod, and you've got a "lo-fi urban country club".  A lucky few are privately invited to join the refreshing summer fun to escape the New York heat.

"There aren't that many places to swim in New York…and dumpsters are everywhere; they're ubiquitous" explains Jocko Weyland, project manager of Macro-Sea. This unconventional solution shows that any situation can be turned upside down in the name of fun.

"The garbage containers, which he described as "newish," were cleaned and lined in plastic, and a filtration system was installed, as on a regular above-ground pool. Mr. Belt's wife, Antonia, stitched together the coverings for the cabanas; the furniture came from Ikea. The main cost was the wood for the deck and the water: about 18,000 gallons, delivered from a New Jersey aquifer for $1,200.

I tried to do it so that even if you had to rent one, you could do a stand-alone Dumpster, a grill and chair for under $1,000," Mr. Belt said. Copycats are welcome, because Macro-Sea itself is using the project as a template for a larger idea: turning eyesore strip malls into artsy community destinations, with Dumpster pools and other indie attractions.

I thought if we could get people to come here and swim in a Dumpster, I could probably use the same aesthetic sensibility" to get people - and, not incidentally, better retailers - to come to a dingy strip mall, Mr. Belt said. The company hopes to open its first repurposed shopping center in Atlanta this fall, ideally with dozens of pools in the parking lot that visitors can rent for the day."

New York Times articles, picture slideshow and video here.