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As housing tends to become more expensive throughout the world, people unwilling to compromise on their lifestyle have turned towards the concept of living in tiny houses. Two of the most popular structures that have gained ground over recent years and which seem to be successful in their own right are the space capsule house and the container house. Though both tend to be smaller in size with more space efficiency, they are exceedingly different in many aspects-design, sustainability features, pros, cons, and regulatory restrictions.
Capsule houses are strictly designed to accommodate a short-term stay. It is somewhat like a dormitory or a hotel. Small-sized, mobile units that are designed to stack atop each other within capsules, they hugely dominate the seismic region. Inside these structures, lie a bed, desk, bathroom, and a tiny kitchenette.
Both types of houses have many advantages concerning sustainability. Capsule houses are designed with the notion of consuming less energy, therefore, it is more eco-friendly. Such houses are usually fitted with low-energy lighting, advanced insulations, and even smart home technology. Container houses, on the other hand, are sustainable for quite another reason; they are made from recycled material. Owners can reduce the amount of waste and environmental impact on construction from their project by using old shipping containers as housing.
However, there are pros and cons to both types of houses. The advantages of capsule house include being good for temporary accommodations and as a cheaper way of dwelling in an urban place. They also happen to be mobile-friendly and perfect for those who travel very often. However, for others, the space may be a problem in these houses.
Lastly, it should be noted that each of these house types has legal and zoning codes to consider. Capsule houses are considered temporary and are usually much more strictly regulated compared to other types. Based on the state you reside in, it could wholly ban the use of a tiny house or prohibits locating it in one location around the entire state.
In brief, capsule houses and container houses are two different houses with unique benefits and drawbacks which one would have to consider before a decision was reached. Do you want a house that is mobile, much cheaper, and can serve as a short-term accommodation? Then, a house capsule will suit you. But, do you require more space and also have the flexibility to customize living conditions as a permanent home? Then, perhaps a container house might be better suited for you. Ultimately, it is your decision what kind of house would be the best for you.
By Oona McGee, SoraNews24
Tokyo is just as well-known for its ancient shrines and temples as it is for its bright, modern neon screens, but there are a lot of buildings in the city that sit in between these disparate time frames.
Nakagin Capsule Tower is one such building, glistening as a futuristic marvel of modern architecture and catching everyone&#;s eye with its unusual cubic design when it was first erected in . Now, 49 years after it first sprang to life, the aging building, which houses 140 self-contained prefabricated capsules, faces the threat of being demolished, after the majority of capsule owners voted to tear the complex down in and replace it with a more modern tower.
After Kurokawa opposed the demolition, and suggested instead that the prefabricated capsules inside the complex be replaced with more modern ones, plans were stalled and Masato Abe, a capsule owner who once lived in the building, founded the &#;Save Nakagin Tower&#; project.
As part of its preservation plans, the &#;Save Nakagin Tower&#; project has been leasing around 30 capsule apartments to the public on a monthly basis since . However, these monthly stays were temporarily closed recently, which came as sad news to our reporter Chie Nomura, who had been waiting to rent one of these apartments. She managed to get in contact with Tatsuyuki Maeda, a representative from the organization, to let him know her desire to live in the tower, and after a few days passed, she was thrilled when he called her back to let her know an apartment had become available.
So Nomura gathered a month&#;s worth of essentials together and made her way to the twin towers, located conveniently close to Shimbashi Station and within walking distance of the fashionable Ginza district.
&#; The entrance to the Nakagin Capsule Tower Building looks a little run-down, but that&#;s part of its charm.
It didn&#;t take long for Nomura to be shown to her room, and as soon as she stepped into the prefabricated capsule, she was pleased to find it was everything she&#;d hoped it would be.
&#; The room looked like a spaceship, and the star of the show was the unique circular window.
It certainly wasn&#;t big, but that was to be expected from a capsule apartment, and Nomura wasted no time in unpacking the box of goods she&#;d brought with her to help her settle in for a month in the room.
The retro vibe here was strong, extending to the original introductory booklet which Nomura found on a side table inside the room. According to the information in the booklet, the Nakagin Capsule Tower Building actually consists of two interconnected cement towers, one 11 stories high and the other 13, with prefabricated capsule &#;plugs&#; that can be used as residences or offices.
After spending a few days in her apartment, Nomura discovered it came with a variety of pros and cons, so let&#;s take a look first at the upsides of living in the iconic tower. Of course, the top reason for staying here is the convenient location and the chance to step back in time and enjoy the retro atmosphere inside an architecturally respected landmark in Tokyo.
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&#; This image, of another apartment inside the tower, shows a room that most closely resembles the original when it was completed in the &#;70s.
One of the most iconic aspects of the building is the round windows that adorn each cube. Nomura loved the design aesthetic, and spent a lot of time gazing out of that round window from the cosy comfort of her bed.
&#; The wall storage system is incredibly retro, with a desk that conveniently pulls down when you need to use it.
&#;And the door on the right conceals a closet with a good-sized mirror.
And what about this Sony reel-to-reel tape recorder? These were a high-end way to play and record music in the &#;60s and &#;70s, and although this one didn&#;t seem to work when Nomura fiddled with it, she was fascinated to see it was still included in all the rooms.
&#; It&#;s not every day you get to stay in a room with a built-in open-reel recorder from the &#;70s.
&#; The rounded door to the bathroom was also a retro lover&#;s dream.
While the upsides to her stay were the prestige of staying inside the complex, the convenience of its location, and its gorgeous retro design, the room isn&#;t without its pitfalls. The most obvious downside is the fact that there&#;s no kitchen inside the room (portable gas stoves aren&#;t allowed either as open fires are prohibited) and the bar fridge (seen in the photo above) doesn&#;t work, which means you&#;ll be eating out or dining in on ready-made store-bought meals during your month-long stay.
Perhaps the biggest inconvenience, however, is the fact that hot water to the rooms was shut off in after one of the water pipes burst in the building. That means there&#;s no hot water in the bathroom, but there is a shared shower room on-site so you won&#;t have to stink the place out for a month.
&#; No running hot water might be a pain in winter, but it isn&#;t so bad in summer.
There are also no washing machines in the building, so Nomura would have to use a laundromat outside the complex to wash her clothes during her stay. According to Google Maps, the nearest laundromat was a 16-minute walk away, but she was up for the adventure.
Stays in the 10-square-meter rooms are priced at 120,000 yen, which works out to roughly 4,000 yen a night, making the capsule apartments much more affordable than standard hotel rooms in the city.
While the rooms aren&#;t available to rent at the moment, there&#;s a high likelihood they&#;ll become available in the near future, so you too can live the high life like Nomura. Watch this space for her next update, which will include tips for those considering a stay there, and more information on the fate of the building, which is currently on tenterhooks.
Information
Nakagin Capsule Tower Building / &#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;
Address: Tokyo-to, Chuo-ku, Ginza 8-16-10
&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;&#;8-16-10
Website
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- Manga Art Hotel Tokyo: What it&#;s like to spend a night surrounded by 5,000 Japanese manga
-- We stay at a downtown Shibuya capsule hotel and indulge in unlimited baths and sauna sessions
-- Sorry, ladies: Yokohama&#;s got all-new &#;Japan&#;-themed capsule hotel rooms just for men
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