NOT A HOTEL ANYWHERE | DDAA

NOT A HOTEL ANYWHERE is an experimental project that started with a request to develop a new, more mobile, location-independent way of living based on vintage trailers. In answer to the client’s request for five rental vehicles, we proposed making living spaces out of five, each with a single function, such as a bedroom or study car. Our concept was to provide a more meaningful way of life than traditional residences, in which one may choose a vehicle as needed and take it on a journey without being tied to a specific area.

© Kenta Hasegawa

NOT A HOTEL ANYWHERE’s Design Concept

Two of the five cars renovated this time were larger Spartan trucks, while the other three were Airstream camping trailers. We reconstructed services that are difficult to obtain locally – a bath, kitchen, snacks, or “snack bar” (explained in greater detail later) – and highly private functions – a bedroom and study – for use in the vehicles. A larger living room appears to be more opulent. Placing a tarp between the vehicles provides a large outdoor living area where you can include the surroundings wherever you go. The spacious bedroom truck serves as a living room alternative on rainy days.

© Kenta Hasegawa

Because the idea is focused on mobility, there is no set location. We also want users to be able to appreciate the destination’s various sceneries at all hours. This project has a contradictory condition: it necessitates a universal design adaptable to diverse contexts while respecting the uniqueness of places yet to be seen. We switched materials between the upper and lower portions of the trailer to allow for a 360-degree view from the windows in any environment, concentrating all necessary functions in each trailer in the lower part, which does not interfere with the windows so that no functional volumes appear above waist level.

© Kenta Hasegawa

The furniture components that eventually protrude into the trailer’s upper half are all made of mesh or translucent materials or have low volumes. We retained the existing texture of the historic trailer as much as possible to avoid producing unnecessary contrasts on the external shells, adding small adjustments such as waterproofing.

© Kenta Hasegawa

Sunakku, a type of hostess bar that flourished during the Showa era and is now a part of Japan’s unique night culture, was also given at the client’s request. Sunakku, with its unique décor, is a dynamic interaction where the hostess/host interacts with clients over the counter, and customers enjoy discussion and singing. To create a snacks-like environment, we used velvet-upholstered high seats, a karaoke monitor, and substantial, luxurious-looking materials in our snack bar design.

© Kenta Hasegawa

We had to think about locating critical functions in each space while still meeting all the regulations for driving vehicles on public roads, such as installing license plates. Each vehicle includes box-like wheelhouses that extend into the interior and act as splash guards. We devised methods to hide the wheelhouses so that they were not visible. A huge bed, for example, is put in Bedroom 2 to hide the wheelhouses, resulting in a floor plan unaffected by the vehicle’s structural limits.

© Kenta Hasegawa

Infrastructure is a fundamental challenge in planning a mobile and unrestrained lifestyle. The specifications of living necessities such as power and water vary substantially depending on the number of tenants. As a result, we decided to establish infrastructure conditions such that three families with eight members could live together as comfortably as feasible. We also investigated the prospect of getting entirely off the grid. However, if we wanted to use solar panels, on-site power generation, or other new autonomous decentralized infrastructure instead of relying on public infrastructure for water supply, drainage, and electricity, we would need to strengthen the equipment to the point where a separate infrastructure vehicle, in addition to the trailers, would be required.

© Kenta Hasegawa

This would make travel impossible, therefore defeating the project’s initial aim. Finally, we chose a system that could temporarily link to existing infrastructure. We used a base camp at Aoshima, Miyazaki Prefecture, with the open sea in front of it while remaining off-grid compatible.

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