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Collection · 7 houses

Few square metres, a lot of intent

Seven houses at stations, airfields and interchanges, where the tightness is designed rather than the result of an arithmetic exercise.

Some capsule hotels save floor area because floor area costs money. These seven save it in order to take everything else seriously: air, light, shoulder width, and the hour you have to get up.

The houses

01

Pine · Anthracite · Neon

Pine Berth

Railway arch, city ring line

Twenty-four berths under a railway arch, each with a door instead of a curtain. The sound of the trains is there but flattened into a rush you mistake for rain after ten minutes. The common room is bigger than all the berths together, and that is deliberate.

Architecture
Railway arch of 1902, inserted timber berths, ventilation in the ridge duct.
Interior
Untreated pine, a reading lamp with a dimmer, hooks for everything.
Atmosphere
Quieter at night than you expect, very busy in the morning.
Best for
One night between two trains, without paying for a whole day of room.
  • Lockers the width of a berth
  • Showers with towels issued
  • Coffee from half past five
  • Quiet zone with no phone calls

The detail

Each berth has a small window into the arch itself, so you can see the brick you are lying under.

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02

Frosted glass · Steel · Morning

Rooflight

Mezzanine above a station arcade

A half floor above an arcade, with the berths arranged around a roof light. Whoever takes the upper row wakes with the sky; the lower row sleeps longer. The owners allocate places by that question rather than by order of arrival.

Architecture
Arcade superstructure of the 1970s, roof light reopened, two rows of berths.
Interior
Frosted glass, brushed steel, full-length mattresses rather than the short format.
Atmosphere
Matter-of-fact, very clean, no sense of community and no claim to one.
Best for
Late arrival, early departure, no luggage beyond one bag.
  • Access around the clock
  • Earplugs and eye mask included
  • Luggage room with single lockers
  • Two minutes to the platform

The detail

A scale fixed beside the roof light shows which row the sun reaches in which week of the year.

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03

Rain · Aluminium · Green

Rainwalk

Airfield perimeter, edge of the woods

A low building at the edge of the terminal grounds, its berths lined up along a glazed walkway. Outside stands a strip of forest that is louder than the airfield, because the hall was insulated properly. Breakfast runs around the clock, because the guests arrive around the clock.

Architecture
Flat-roofed building of 1998, gutted inside, a glass walkway to the treeline.
Interior
Aluminium, dark green textiles, sleeping boxes with their own ventilation.
Atmosphere
Anonymous in the best sense; nobody asks where you have come from.
Best for
Connecting nights and everything that happens between two flights.
  • Breakfast at any hour
  • Wake-up call by flight number
  • Showers without an overnight stay
  • Shuttle every twenty minutes

The detail

The glass walkway has a row of tilting windows; in rain the staff open them, because otherwise it is too quiet.

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04

Willow · Concrete · Amber

Willow Cell

Office block on the river bank

A riverside building where the berths stack three rows high and each has its own ladder. The owners gave up every second berth to gain shoulder width. You notice the difference the moment you sit up.

Architecture
Administrative block of the 1960s, concrete frame left visible, three berth levels.
Interior
Woven willow as partition, warm light, a shelf within arm's reach.
Atmosphere
Friendly, with a breakfast room people stay in.
Best for
Trade fair days and anyone heading across the river in the evening.
  • Sitting height in every berth
  • Bicycle cellar with tools
  • Breakfast until ten
  • A view over the roofs from the stairwell

The detail

The willow partitions are rewoven every March by a basket maker from the same district.

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05

Straw · Lead · Water

Stalk Cabin

Former postal building, harbour side

Sixteen cabins in a former sorting hall, built from pressed straw and plastered over. The walls take up moisture, which is why this place smells of none of the things capsule hotels usually smell of. Three minutes to the station, twelve to the water.

Architecture
Postal building of 1929, cabins in pressed straw panel, load-bearing structure untouched.
Interior
Plastered straw, lead-grey doors, a reading recess at the foot end.
Atmosphere
Noticeably dry and warm, and very quiet.
Best for
Short stays with one evening by the water.
  • Linen towels
  • Drying room for wet gear
  • Breakfast from six
  • No day guests admitted

The detail

A cut-open section of wall lies in the entrance hall, so you can count the stalks yourself.

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06

Reed · Soot · Midnight

Reed Berth

Annexe beside an interchange station

An annexe to an office building where the berths lie side by side in pairs and share one window. Made for people travelling together who do not want to sleep in one bed. The ground floor is a canteen the whole street uses.

Architecture
Annexe of 2016, timber frame, façade in reed board.
Interior
Paired berths with a partition, a shared window, a felt curtain.
Atmosphere
Neighbourly; in the evening half the street sits downstairs.
Best for
Two travellers on different sleeping schedules.
  • Paired berths with separate beds
  • Canteen until ten
  • Luggage held after checkout
  • Six minutes to the long-distance platform

The detail

The reed panels come from a wetland two hours away and are partly replaced every second year.

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07

Quartz · Graphite · Dew

Springfold

Slab block between fairground and car park

A narrow slab between the exhibition halls and a car park, cabins facing south and corridors facing north. The house has no restaurant and instead a water point on each floor with five kinds of tea. Stay three nights here and you have planned your fair badly, and the owners will say so.

Architecture
Slab block of 2011, cabins as prefabricated modules, anodised sheet façade.
Interior
Quartz-grey surfaces, a fold-down table, sockets at head height.
Atmosphere
Functional, very well ventilated, without a single gesture.
Best for
One night before an appointment you need to be awake for.
  • Fold-down work table
  • Tea points on every floor
  • Ironing room
  • Direct link to the rail platform

The detail

Each floor carries a handwritten card with the shortest walk to somewhere you can sit outdoors.

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Tell us your city and your taste

Write and say where you are going and what interests you about a building. We answer with two or three addresses from the guide, and we say which of them we would book again ourselves.

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