Thursday 9 August 2012

The capsule hotel: communal living vs. isolation


Developed in Japan, capsule hotels feature a large amount of capsules placed together that act as rooms for guests. These capsules are placed side-to-side and are about 2mx1mx1.25m wide. Privacy is gained by either a curtain or a fibreglass door.

It is interesting to examine capsule hotels in the context of communal living vs. isolation. People go to hotels to escape- quite often to be alone and simply relax. Yet how can one be alone when in such close proximity to others? In a place where a thin fibreglass wall and a curtain is all that blocks you from others, can you really have privacy?

We would think that hotels such as this would create a very dark and claustrophic atmosphere- something which we may explore for our island site hotel, which will draw from the ambience of the city.

No comments:

Post a Comment