hotel ICHINICHI by aida atelier: a revived complex in akabane, japan

developed by japan-based aida atelier, hotel ICHINICHI is a small hostel situated in a local shopping street of akabane, tokyo. the project is retrofitting an existing five-story reinforced concrete building — originally built as a tiny complex housing a beauty salon, offices and dormitories. however, after several years, the building became vacant from any activity.

huts designed to provide minimum but enough space for an average human body
all images © tatsuya noaki

the accumulation of time is strongly visible in the old but charming complex, and it seems to present itself as an alternative image to tokyo’s current development — which locals have grown accustomed to. furthermore, the interior spaces hold a unique blend of styles, resulting from several remodelings in the past years — including spiral staiways and a chandelier which evoke the old beauty salon. as such, aida atelier has started carefully subtracting existing elements to reveal the multiple spatial layers of the hostel. in some areas, the structural concrete was exposed whereas in others, the most recently finished surface was peeled off to display the hidden layers.

personal spaces in the shape of nested huts installed on the 3rd and 4th floor

after defining the interior configuration of hotel ICHINICHI, personal rooms shaped like nested huts were installed. the size of those units are carefully considered and designed to provide just enough space for an average guest to stand up, sleep, and move with their arms wide open.

‘the hostel owner grew up in this neighborhood, and started her business utilizing the building her relative had built. we hope this serves as a prototype for a small urban hostel situated in a humble community’, aida atelier explains. 

café and bar “the 315” is located on the 1st floor, a former hair salon area

each hut is shaded by noren, a traditional japanese fabric dividers

a suite room with a roof terrace is located on the top floor

double rooms on the 3rd and 4th floor face the local street

common rest rooms are located on the 3rd and 4th floor

the façade is designed to maximize transparency in order to show original structures, chandelier and spiral staircase

hotel ICHINICHI located in akabane, a unique district in tokyo, with lots of local bars and restaurants

plan drawings: from the 1st floor to the 5th

3D model showing the elevation, technical drawing illustrating a longitudinal of the hotel

project info:

name: hotel iICHINICHI
location: akabane, tokyo
completion: october 2015
interior architect: tomoro aida / aida atelier
sign graphic: hiromi yoshishiba / the boundary
construction: san-esu kensetsu
site area: 99.0m2
building area: 78.85m2
total floor area: 371.83m2
structure: reinforced concrete

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom

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