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 (13)

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...

posted by natashad on July 1st 2009 at 2:04pm
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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.

posted by bepsf on July 1st 2009 at 2:22pm
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Sorry, is it me or does these images conjure Nooners? That lady's shoe is close to kissing that poor man's face.

posted by trailingedge on July 1st 2009 at 2:45pm
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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.

posted by deliriumsama on July 1st 2009 at 4:12pm
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All I can think about is how quickly they would smell like a closed up room that someone's been sleeping in.

posted by home body on July 1st 2009 at 5:10pm
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Useless without toilet facilities.

posted by SherryBinNH on July 1st 2009 at 6:01pm
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One word: Airports. Two words: long layovers. Three words: with alarm clocks.

posted by rosenatti on July 1st 2009 at 6:34pm
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Two words: bed bugs.

posted by Novabass on July 2nd 2009 at 12:38am
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three words: red light district

posted by edwood on July 2nd 2009 at 1:41am
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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.

posted by gwylan on July 2nd 2009 at 8:03am
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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

posted by jooly on July 2nd 2009 at 9:44am
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IF I were homeless, I'd rather camp under a bridge. It looks like a battery hen house.

posted by FantasticMrFaux on July 2nd 2009 at 3:27pm
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nope. claustrophobic. i'd go crazy and start screaming

posted by formosagirl on July 2nd 2009 at 4:40pm
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