Imagine being able to camp in Big Sur with all the warmth and comfort of home. Think about waking up in a private hideaway with the coastal breeze rolling in and the forest quiet mellowing out every muscle as you stretch your arms and legs on the wooden deck of a private hideaway. It technically doesn’t even have to be a bedroom behind you. It could be a guest suite, office, cocktail lounge, or yoga studio. It sounds magical, right? Well, it’s totally possible now.
This week's #BirthdayBucketList is the Autonomous Tent, the world's first transportable five-star boutique hotel. Promising freedom and adventure, Autonomous Tent enables a life of luxury without boundaries. Its name is a tad misleading, because while it looks like a tent from afar, it actually operates like a tiny cabin with the interior of a stylish hotel room.
In short, it’s amazing.
Photography: Autonomous Tent
The Goal of Sustainable Stays
The goal was simple, to create a unique hotel in secluded natural locations for only a season at a time. The notion was to build an oasis of hospitality that’d be entirely powered by the sun and wind. It would also rely on advanced water filtration systems and composting technology.
A New Kind of Eco-Luxury
In the process, founder Phil Parr and his team realized there was a bigger concept at play. Luckily, his team included celebrated architect Harry Gesner, up-and-coming designer Patricia DiMario, and master craftsmen Andrew Macdonald. Together, they crafted a new form of architecture, one that meant travelers could stay at the most beautiful places in the world without impacting their delicate ecosystems.
The Autonomous Tent comes in two varieties. There's the 700-square-foot Cocoon (12 feet high, 24 feet wide, 36 feet deep) and the 1,000-square-foot Tipi (12 feet high, 46 feet wide, 36 feet deep).
Insanely Strong Tents
The cost of an Autonomous Tent varies, depending on your needs and asks. For the most part, however, the Cocoon tent (500-700 square feet) will run about $100,000, while the Tipi (1,000 square feet) is typically priced around $200,000.
The team behind the Autonomous Tent understands those prices run (well) above your average tent cost. The reason for the higher rate is the significantly higher quality. These tents are crazy resilient. Each one can stand against 90-mph hurricane winds and intense snow loads of 30 psf. They're made with steel and aluminum tubes as well as laminated beams (that should last your whole life).
Life in the Wild and How It Works
If you take an Autonomous Tent to a campsite, things like gas, power, water, and sewer treatments may already be provided. However, in more remote locations, that won't be the case. So with its collection of solar panels, the Autonomous Tent's LED lights, pumps, water filters, and composing system can deliver. There's also a small array of solar water heater panels or on-demand propane water heater—it’s up to you—for shower and sink usage. You can even install a propane, wood burning, or solid fuel stove inside the tent. Again, it's not your average tent—not at all.
Credits
Photography + Venue: Autonomous Tent
