A Place to Crash: Mini Capsule Hotel

So it's officially Escapes month here on Apartment Therapy, and we have to admit that the escapes we dream of usually involve more than just a mattress. Nevertheless, the Mini Capsule Hotel from Dutch design firm Atelier Van Lieshout, launched this month at Design Miami/Basel, is kind of a fun concept. It's a bit like a dovecote for humans, with six sleeping "capsules" that are about as minimal as it gets. At the design show it was a VIP lounge where partyers could crash. Brad Pitt evidently bought it, planning to install it for his kids on their private beach (ooh la-la). Check out some more photos after the jump...

It's fun to imagine Brad Pitt's kids scamping about in this thing on the beach, but are there other practical applications for the design? Maybe as a cheap hotel, an alternative to camping? Or (on a serious note) as temporary housing for the homeless?

What do you think? Can you come up with some practical applications for the Mini Capsule Hotel?

We read about the Mini Capsule Hotel in Dezeen magazine. Check out their full story, which contains more photos and goes into detail about the installation at the Design Miami/Basel.

You can also view more of Atelier Van Lieshout's work on their site.

(Images: James Harris/Dezeen)

Comments (14)

YES I DO HAVE AN IDEA.
i've been saying this FOREVER: NYC is so frickin huge and exhausting, there is no way in hell I would ever go back home (especially if i lived in brooklyn) to take a 20 minute nap when I'm crashing, and I'm not about to snooze on the starbucks armchair or a library desk!!!

NAPPING STATION HELLO???? Somewhere you can go in and pay for a place to take a quick nap in the middle of the day (or night!) and pay by the hour/half hour!!!

They have capsule hotels in Japan already but I donno if they'd be big here...

I agree:
Mini-Capsule Hotel could be affordable housing for the Homeless...
...but I'm afraid that it would just end up being a decrepid graffiti-coated shooting den.

Sorry, is it me or does these images conjure Nooners? That lady's shoe is close to kissing that poor man's face.

They already have capsule hotels in Japan, though I think they're smaller than this. If I had a long commute, I could totally do this as a napping spot. I doubt they'd do well in the USA, though, we're all way too fond of taking up a lot of space.

All I can think about is how quickly they would smell like a closed up room that someone's been sleeping in.

Useless without toilet facilities.

One word: Airports. Two words: long layovers. Three words: with alarm clocks.

three words: red light district

Very interesting concept. I love the previous ideas of a napping center, especially at an airport. No matter what it was used for it would obviously need to be controlled. The only part that I'm sure is inevitable is the bed bugs. It doesn't matter if you're in the snazziest airport in the world, there are still travellers carrying bed bugs in their gear.

Fun for kids, but I would feel like I was in a drawer in a mortuary. I hope there's plenty of ventilation in there

IF I were homeless, I'd rather camp under a bridge. It looks like a battery hen house.

nope. claustrophobic. i'd go crazy and start screaming

actually, it's not useless without bathroom facilities, if there is water near by for a shower (like the ocean), and of course, public toilets or some trees nearby for relief.

i'm going to take a shower in the ocean tomorrow i think ^_^ and -_-