Japanese office G Studio extra swathes of white paint to the walls of this loft apartment in Tokyo, making it look like the room is unfinished .
Named Tokyo Loft, the apartment occupies a single of the uppermost floors of a 1980s housing block and was created particularly to be used as quick-phrase accommodation for tourists.
Rather than providing a polished hotel-like interior, G Studio chose to deliberately create a room that combines residence comforts with raw industrial finishes – in order to “achieve harmony” in between the two aesthetics.
“Considering that this apartment is to be utilised for accommodation functions, we took the special character of the apartment and added a hotel-like environment,” stated designer Ryohei Tanaka.
Associated story: NAAD lines a century-outdated Japanese property with unfinished plywood
The raw concrete walls and ceilings have been up to date using a painting approach intended to generate the effect of Japanese Washi paper. It concerned spray painting A4 sized sheets of resin against the surfaces, then getting rid of them to reveal a spiral-like texture.
“This mixes the outdated wall with the new wall,” the designer told Dezeen. “Just renewal is uninteresting. Some thing previous is not just previous, and it is much better than just new.”
The area is organised close to a huge living space that opens out to a balcony terrace. A bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are arranged all around the outside, along with an entrance spot.
On one side of the apartment, a row of skylights were built into the sloping ceiling to offer views of the city. This makes it possible for lots of organic light into the open-prepare residing area, which characteristics a metal kitchen unit along a single edge.
Wooden floorboards are used during the apartment, with vibrant orange electrical wires and plumbing characteristics left exposed to increase the industrial seem.
To make the space more welcoming to visitors, common hotel attributes including a freestanding bathtub and a bar location had been also additional.
Tanaka believes this type of accommodation enables travelers to be “exposed to the real culture” of Tokyo.
“Due to web sites like Airbnb, there has been an boost in popularity with these sorts of brief-term apartment rentals,” the designer added. “These are buyers who are dissatisfied with traditional hotels and would like the comfort of a property whilst travelling.”
The task is expected to grow to be a template for rejuvenating the city’s disused “pencil buildings” – which were created throughout Japan’s economic development in the 1980s and earned their nickname since they sit on plots of land disproportionate to their height.
“Strategies are in place to increase these types of apartments in Tokyo with this apartment becoming the first check model for long term projects,” extra the designer.