Bedrooms the size of a single mattress are slotted two-higher into the walls of this wooden guesthouse in Japan by Alphaville Architects, which takes its cues from capsule hotels .
Behind a grey corrugated-metal facade, slim white columns had been utilised by Kyoto studio Alphaville Architects to define the floor strategy of the Koyasan Guesthouse.
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The rows of two-by-4 wooden beams are set at normal intervals, separating a living and dining location from a double-height hallway that runs by way of the centre of the developing and provides access to the small sleeping spaces.
Hatches open into these bedroom chambers, which have been stacked on top of every other into cavities in the walls – one at ground level and a single below the rafters.
Short horizontal rungs set amongst the timber down-posts form inbuilt ladders that let guests to access the leading bunks.
“Each single space straight faces a hall so that you can decide on proper distance with other guests making sure the privacy,” said the team.
The architects designed the guesthouse for visitors to the UNESCO world heritage web site of Koyasan, a temple of the Shingon Buddhism sect that was founded 1,200 years ago.
“It is a mixture of a Japanese capsule-variety hotel in which the privacy is well protected, and a dormitory in which the communication amongst the guests is active,” said the architects, who also created a property with slanted concrete walls in Osaka.
The living area functions a sloping ceiling that follow the angle of the roof and a black wood-burning stove with a flue that rises up into the exposed ceiling rafters.
Narrow clerestory windows run along 1 wall, bridging a hip in the roof structure, and a kitchen and breakfast bar sit across the concrete-floored hall.
“We make use of the subtle light from far above by way of the wooden structure, in tribute to classic Japanese architecture,” added the architects.
The open framework of the developing will allow the client to adapt it as the needs modify.
“The basic composition of the space let not only owner of this guesthouse but also guests to preserve, modify and keep on employing this architecture for a long time,” added the group.
Photography is by Toshiyuki Yano.
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