Breathe life into an unknown place: what can give camping in Amsterdam to Ukrainian event managers?

Imagine camping in the conditions of a real Blue Lagoon, located … in Transcarpathia. Or rest among landscapes of the real American canyon – but only much closer, in the Mykolaiv area. Or an evening string concert on the shores of Lemurian Lake with pink water, which is called the Ukrainian Dead Sea.

Our country has great potential – including for event organizers. Why not move away from the “pop” locations and pay attention to little-known places that only locals know about? This is exactly what the company did, which built the most unusual campsite in the world.

To the “space camp” – with your personal towels and soap

The location is near Amsterdam. This is an artificial island called Urban Campsite, close to the sandy beach owned by Blijburg Club. At first glance – an unremarkable area at all. If not for this camp. All the buildings in it are built in the style of the “space era”. But at the same time “space is close”: the harbor, restaurants and the railway station are a 5-minute walk from the campsite. Going by train from this place to the central station of Amsterdam takes twenty minutes only.

“Residential installations” were built on the island. That is how the organizers dubbed the tiny rooms for guests. Each such “boxing” is made in an original style and form. There is housing in the form of a spaceship capsule. One house has a trampoline instead of a roof. A local attraction is the Universe 7 house with a dome from which you can admire the beauty of the lake.

Some rooms have separate open living rooms so that guests can relax in the open air. There is no electricity on the island, but the organizers took care of a sufficient level of comfort. All houses are equipped with solar panels, in each box, there is a small space for work: with a table, chair, Internet access point. A perfect solution for people of modern free professions.

To live in an unusual campsite, you need to bring towels and necessary toiletries with you. On the whole territory – only one building with showers and toilet stalls. The kitchen, hammocks and even a fireplace are also common – they are in a separate location of the camp.

For an overnight stay in space-camp, the guest needs to pay an average of 85 euros. To order tours to Urban Campsite, you can use the official website. The “hottest” days are weekends. They are booked in advance.

Not simply camping, but an object of art

По сути, этот кемпинг — арт-объект. Каждая локация в нем несет двойной смысл. Чего стоит только бассейн, расположенный… в обычном городском мусоросборнике. Тем не менее, объект предлагает комфортные условия для людей, которые приезжают просто отдохнуть от городской суеты, не думая о подтекстах.

Создатели лагеря признаются: ключевой их идеей было вдохнуть жизнь в отдаленные и абсолютно не интересные места. Они хотели доказать самим себе, что популярность локации зависит не от ее расположения, а от подхода к организации. Многие жители мегаполисов не откажутся провести несколько ночей в домике с видом на ночное небо. Или в боксе «Ожидание воды»: он расположен на возвышенности. Организаторы шутят, что он останется единственным пригодным для жизни, если нашу планету затопит. 

In fact, this campsite is an art object. Each location in it carries a double meaning. What is worth a pool alone located … in an ordinary city trash can. Nevertheless, the facility offers comfortable conditions for people who come just to relax from the hustle and bustle of a city, without thinking about the implications.

The creators of the camp confess: their key idea was to breathe life into distant and absolutely not interesting places. They wanted to prove to themselves that the popularity of a location does not depend on its location but on its approach to organization. Many residents of megacities will not give up spending several nights in a house overlooking the night sky. Or in the box called “Waiting for water”: it is located on higher ground. Organizers joke that it will remain the only livable if our planet is flooded.

It is promising

This approach is very valuable for Ukraine. In our country, there are tens of thousands of interesting locations situated within transport accessibility from large cities. These are beautiful coasts and canyons, deserts and gorges. Or – abandoned enterprises, former shooting ranges, ridiculous monumental objects of the past history. Well, is it worth breathing life into them? To build such unusual campsites, to conduct off-site events? This is a promising trend for everyone who works in the event sphere. And it is obvious that there will be progress in this direction: after all, cities are already crowded and boring.