Off-grid tiny house-style carpool kiosk is just the ticket

Tiny houses aren't just for living in, and we’ve covered a library, bakery, and even a wedding chapel based on the style in the past. Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses offers yet another example with its latest project, which is a ticket kiosk that serves carpoolers in Aspen, Colorado.

The City of Aspen Carpool Kiosk project was created because of a general lack of parking spaces in the area. It was decided to set up a carpool system, so to enable a ticket officer to issue free parking permits and keep track of the number of people using the service, the local government needed a structure with the kind of flexibility only an off-grid tiny house-style office can provide.

"One idea that has been on the table for several years was to issue free parking vouchers for people who carpooled into Aspen from out of town," explains Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses. "In order to properly administer this, the city needed infrastructure and personnel to actually verify people were carpooling and issue the voucher. This structure needed to be located at the edge of town in a spot that the city owned and could handle the traffic count. It so happened it owned a park and ride station just a few miles north of downtown, however, they needed the building to be mobile in case it had to move to a different spot down the line."

The City of Aspen Carpool Kiosk measures 16 ft (4.8 m) long and is based on a double-axle trailer. Its exterior looks pretty much like any other tiny house, except for a large operable window that allows the ticket officer to speak to people in their vehicles and hand out the permits. The interior is pretty basic but functional and includes a desk and file cabinet for office-related activities.

In a nod to comfort, there's also a sofa installed, as well as a bathroom with a flushing toilet and storage space, and a kitchenette with a sink, fridge, microwave, a coffee maker, and some cabinetry.

We've no word on the insulation used for the City of Aspen Carpool Kiosk, though it will be in use year-round. With this in mind, the interior is kept a comfortable temperature with a GREE Sapphire mini-split heat pump, which is rated as efficient in temperatures as low as -22 °F (- 30 degrees C). A ceiling fan is also installed.

Power comes from six 320-watt solar panels, which are connected to a 10-kWh Lithium battery. A backup generator is available and a 60 gal (227 l) fresh water tank provides water.

Source: Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses