Case study - 9h-nine hours capsule hotel in Kyoto

In this case study, I am going to talk about an existing capsule hotel in Japan. This capsule hotel is named NINE HOURS (9H), “The building itself is 9 stories tall; host 125 capsules, locker rooms, showers, and a lounge.”(Andrea db, 2009) It is located in the city centre of Kyoto, and opened on December 9th, 2009. “The hostel philosophy indicates its name, the idea and most basic form the Sleeping hub provides: 1hour to shower + 7hours to sleep + 1hour to rest = nine hours.”(Nine Hours Kyoto Teramachi, n.d) The use of hotel is just like other capsule hotels, people get in, sleep and get out, and these fast ways are what capsule hotel unique feature is.

Lobby area

This is the area for guests check-in, change clothes and shoes. The guiding signs are painted on the ground with simple figure and arrow to each area.

Shower area

When the customers leave their shoes and clothes in the locker, then they will have to clean themselves in shower, finally they put on the unify cloth to allow going to general area and sleeping area.



General area

The first floor and second floor are general area for people relaxing, reading and eating, also for some people who may need WI-FI to work.

Sleeping area

The sleeping area is major part of 9h capsule hotel; the numbers of the capsule sleeping unit are painted on the ground and arrow to the each unit with the unit number.

In the capsule unit, “Each capsule includes panasonic's advanced system for good sleeping by computerized control lighting. Room environment by panasonic / matsushita electric works. According to the time set, the light will wake you up.” (Andrea db, 2009) The bed sheets are of the same quality as those that are used in a star-level hotel

 

What capsule hotel is?

The word “capsule” means a small case or container, especially a round or cylindrical one.  So capsule hotel is a place that offer a small container for people sleeping over night, they are also named capsule inn or capsule apartment. This kind of hotels is common in Japan and originated from Japan, but they are not widely accepted from outside Japan. The first capsule hotel to open was the Capsule Inn Osaka, designed by Kisho Kurokawa and located in the Umeda district of Osaka. It opened in 1979.

Capsule Inn Osaka                     View in a capsule, with TV in the upper left corner

The capsule hotel was developed in Japan. Because space is at a serious premium in Japan, architects and interior designers are constantly looking for ways to conserve space, down to inches and centimetres. It is this sense of space economy that has led to such innovations as the cubic watermelon. Capsule hotel is a High density of hotel accommodation, the occupants can use a container where is 2 meter by 1 meter by 1.2 meter, it is made from glass fibre or solid plastic, and just enough space for one person to sleep inside. A typical capsule hotel is composed of two major spaces, one public lounge space including bathing, canteen and smoking area, and the other is a private space where the sleeping area (capsule units) are arranged, the bed in the capsule unit for the occupants laying down called capsule bed. The actual sleeping room is a capsule unit made of reinforced plastic and designed in the image of a jet airplane's cockpit. In the capsule unit, all the required amenities are provided; TV, radio, alarm clock, adjustable lighting, almost everything is provided. Every device is within your reach and you can control everything in a sleeping position. Each capsule unit’s entrance has a roller blind for protecting occupant’s privacy, but it cannot be completely isolated the sound from other occupants. And the toilet and shower room are shared by occupants; there is also canteen and vending machine severing for them. Japanese capsule hotels vary in size. Some of them hold only about 50 capsules. There are others that can accommodate upwards of 700 guests. At the time of capsule hotel beginning, the hotels only offered male occupants, this was because the privacy of capsule was not good enough and women would be easily molested by some obscene people. But this problem has been solved now; some capsule hotels are designed that giving priority to women. It is not only female toilet, but also lift and stair are separated as special purpose for women making them feel comfortable and safe. This objective is all for raising female customers.

STEEL FRAME

Steel frame assembled at Kullman in Lebanon, NJ

RADIANT FLOOR

Radiant floor tubing installed

FLOOR AND ROOF SIPS

Concrete floor and roof SIPs installed

WALL SIPS

Wall and parapet SIPs installed

INTERIOR FINISHES

Interior constructed. Finishes completed

DOORS AND SHADES

Curtains, sliding glass doors and Eclipsis System (insulating panels, and shutter shades installed)

PV PANELS

Photovoltaic panels (PVs) installed

DECK AND LANDSCAPE

Deck and landscape assembled on site

PLAN (CLOSED)

LUMENHAUS features an 800-square-foot, open floor plan meant to be oriented with the entry facing north. The pavilion plan is completely open with a bathroom core providing a barrier between public and private space. When the glass doors and the Eclipsis System is closed, the owner can nestle in the naturally lit space.

PLAN (OPEN)

Covering the glass doors is the Eclipsis System, comprising two independent sliding layers that operate automatically to maximize energy efficiency. These screens can be closed even if the glass doors are open so the house receives fresh air while blocking out unwanted hot direct light in the summer. When the doors and screen are both completely opened, interior and exterior meld into a seamless transition, delivering a rich transparency of space.

DETAIL SECTION

This detailed section shows LUMENHAUS’s many sliding layers, from the outside in. All layers operate completely independently of each other, permitting multiple potential combinations according to energy efficiency and homeowner mood.
1. Shutter Shade, part of the Eclipsis System. Redefining the traditional shutter as a spatial element and a technological component. The mechanical pattern is generated by an algorithm to simulate mini solar eclipses. Different sized circles are cut out of long-lasting stainless steel with a laser, and then bent forwards and backwards into tabs of different angles, tailored to the location of the screen on the house and site-specific requirements for optimal sunlight dispersion and privacy. When it is closed, its design will be cast into the house as a light-and-shadow pattern to intensify and enrich the space.
2. Insulating Panel, part of the Eclipsis System. A translucent polycarbonate panel filled with Nanogel, a translucent aerogel that is highly insulating, protects LUMENHAUS in inclement weather conditions. The insulating panel also holds light literally and phenomenally, symbolically radiating back the energy collected during the day through a low-energy LED lighting system embedded in the screens.
3. Sliding bug screens keep unwanted insects out of the house.
4. Sliding glass doors. Two full walls of glass maximize the amount of natural light that fills the house during the day. The doors can be opened independently of the Eclipsis System, allowing fresh air to filter through the house without harming energy efficiency.
5. Sliding muslin curtains provide an additional layer of beauty and privacy.

SHUTTER SHADE ELEVATIONS

South Façade. The south façade’s Shutter Shade perforations are designed to block direct sunlight while maintaining views to the exterior and privacy to those inside.
North Façade. The north façade’s Shutter Shade perforations are designed in a more porous fashion to allow more indirect, natural sunlight into the house while maintaining views to the exterior and privacy to those inside.

Service design

Service design is the activity of planning and organizing people, infrastructure, communication and material components of a service in order to improve its quality and the interaction between service provider and customers. The purpose of service design methodologies is to design according to the needs of customers or participants, so that the service is user-friendly, competitive and relevant to the customers. The backbone of this process is to understand the behavior of the customers, their needs and motivations. Service designers draw on the methodologies of fields such as ethnography and journalism to gather customer insights through interviews and by shadowing service users. Many observations are synthesized to generate concepts and ideas that are typically portrayed visually, for example in sketches or service prototypes. Service design may inform changes to an existing service or creation of new services.

RENZO PIANO

Pedregal Shopping Center by Pascal Arquitectos

This project comes to set a new architectural statement in the Pedregal area of Mexico City which has been neglected, because nothing new and important had happened since its beginings when “Cuidad Universitaria” was built. Nowadays the real-estate pressure and the need of services are beginning to promote significant changes.

The way that this building relates with its context, is by breaking up with what is common to the zone, which are big houses in big areas surrounded by very high stone walls which do not let anybody know what is happening outside and vice versa.

This goal is achieved with the main facade that consists of two elements: one of them linen with a zinc plate with large irregular perforations to which a different shades of yellow and translucent laminated glass section is inlay. It allows the view of the interior event from the outisde, and at the same time allowing the view of the exterior event from the inside; in such way the public social spaces mix and the limits within the urban and the private become frontiers.

The project consists of two commercial levels and a roof garden and two underground parking levels.
Mobility impaired individuals access and areas are included: ramps, special parking spaces, elevators, etc.; car reception area at the entrance and the exit to avoid parking in the public way, numerous garden areas, including the roof; car delivery zone inside the first parking basement floor.

This is a sustainable and intelligent development project with an automation and control system that contemplates passive and active energy saving resources: lighting and extraction control, opening and closing façade rolling doors, air conditioning, security and control access, prevention signage, CCTV, all of them scheduled and synchronized.

The main facade consists of two elements: one is covered with a zinc plate with large irregular perforations, the other one is a laminated glass box with different shades of yellow and translucentness.

The jail in future