January 2, 2010
Suite Deal at the Capsule Hotel
As a potential nightmare mixture of the mortgage meltdown and “The Great Recession,” I just hope this “1984″-ish photo and article kicking off the year on the NYT front page isn’t a sign of things to come.
Full story and slide show.
(photo: Ko Sasaki for The New York Times)
10 Comments Leave a comment
Creditking said:
Glanced at the crate we use for our dog (when we have to leave him alone for a brief time) – how similar in structure to these cubes. We crate the dog to give him a safe and comfortable place when his human companions aren’t around. All I can think of when I look at these hotel cubes are loneliness and despair. Having said that, we could put air travelers in cubes like this, stack them into planes (with all appropriate security measures in place)thus immediately taking care of many concerns. Those look like first class cubes – hate to see what coach class looks like.
doug said:
I thought about W. Gibson’s Neuromancer when I read this article…
Rich2506 said:
Wow! As a former sailor (PN3, USN, 1991-2001), those look pretty comparable to the “racks” I slept onboard ships. Of course, we had a locker underneath our mattresses (About a foot high and split up into four sections and a lock-able drawer) and a two-foot high/one-foot deep & wide locker to keep hanging items in. Somewhat luxurious compared to these.
Greenwich Village Apartments said:
Although it’s interesting to see how they have hotels that cater to short and long-term dwellers, It is nothing like some of the accommodations I have seen state-side. While these save on space and have the bare amenities one needs to sleep, I prefer the ambiance of a Bed & Breakfast much like the ones located in Greenwich Village in NYC. There you have large-sized rooms, full bathrooms, and a large enough bed that one may be able to sprawl out and really enjoy their time there.
yg said:
the japanese modules are first class compared to this:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1917897,00.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE52B1CW20090312
Stan said:
@Greenwich Village Apartments
Your comment has to be about the crassest thing I’ve read in weeks, and considering I read a lot of blogs that’s saying something.
You’re simply using this sad story to plug your B&B! How heartless can you get!? Who would want to stay at B&B run by someone like you? I hope yours burns to the ground some day soon and you end up in a homeless shelter.
Gasho said:
[Possible] sign of things to come? – that’s so scary. If you want to scare people about the recession, overpopulation, extreme shortage of space and resources — show them this picture.
Showing eviction notices on properties and even heaps of people’s stuff outside their homes is the norm for evoking this feeling of dread. On the other hand, seeing pictures of homeless people doesn’t make me imagine that I’ll end up that bad off.. but this is somewhere in the middle.. a managed homelessness — a clean solution for the man who’s lost [ a l m o s t ] everything.
It’s also possible to imagine huge banks of these capsules – giving thousands of people a spot in the “new bottom” of our radically skewed wealth distribution. I have to wonder — could the elite get the masses to live like bees for a time before the pot boils over and we have a full scale revolt?
Wayne Dickson said:
Someone mentioned the “racks” sailors have. “Hot-racking” – another guy steps in just as the preceding guy is stepping out – is common. On British subs these days your space is 2 meters long by 1 meter high by 1 meter wide. The larger cabin space for long-distance truckers (smaller than a typical bathroom) are considered luxurious. Worth a lot of reflection.
Aunt Moe said:
I seem to remember these ‘capsules’ from 20 years ago – also in Japan. But that time they were being touted as bare bones ‘accommodations’ for the businessman on the go. They were, however, slightly larger, but not large enough to stand up in. Anyone else remember that?
tenacitus said:
They actually have these in Schipol airport