Capsule Apartments: Living in 9 sqm

Imagine a home of 9 square meters — smaller than a parking space — with a bed, bathroom, kitchen, desk, and integrated technology. Sounds claustrophobic? For millions of residents in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and New York, this is already reality. And technology is making these tiny homes smarter than ever.

📖 Read more: city-2090

9 sqm

Minimum capsule apartment

$500K

16 sqm in Hong Kong

546

Rooms at The Collective London

1979

First capsule hotel in Japan

The Origin: Capsule Hotels in Japan

In February 1979, architect Kisho Kurokawa designed the world's first capsule hotel — the Capsule Inn Osaka in the Umeda district. Each capsule: a single bed, TV, air conditioning, electronic console. Cost: ¥2,000-4,000 per night (€16-32). The clientele: salarymen who missed the last train or were too drunk to get home.

Kurokawa had bigger plans. He had designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower (1972) in Tokyo — a building of 140 capsules, 10 sqm each, part of the Metabolism movement in Japanese architecture. The idea: replaceable capsules like cells. The building was finally demolished in April 2022, but its philosophy lives on.

Today's Reality

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Hong Kong — The Capital of Micro Living

Architect Gary Chang transformed a 32 sqm apartment into 24 different rooms — kitchen, library, laundry, dining room, bar — using sliding walls on ceiling rails and folding furniture. In Sai Ying Pun, a 16 sqm apartment sold for $500,000+ (2015). Property prices in HK are the highest in the world.

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London — The Collective Old Oak

The world's largest co-living building (2016), designed by PLP Architecture: 546 rooms, from 9.2 sqm to 16.5 sqm. Shared spaces: cinema, spa, “disco-launderette,” secret garden, restaurant, gym, co-working. Each floor shares a kitchen among 30-70 residents.

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New York — Carmel Place

New York City's first micro-apartment building (June 2016): 55 units, minimum 23 sqm, ceiling height 2.7-3 m. The city changed its zoning regulations specifically for this project. Backlash: “it's a luxury SRO (Single Room Occupancy) with a rebrand.”

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Rome — 4 sqm

In a city with an average cost of $7,800/sqm (2010), apartments as small as 4 sqm were advertised — smaller than a prison cell. This sparked debate about minimum standards for dignified living.

Technology That Makes the Difference

What transforms a “box” into livable space is technology:

🤖 Robotic Furniture

Ori Living (MIT Media Lab spin-off) builds robotic units: one button transforms the sleeping area into an office or living room. Murphy beds, folding tables, drawers integrated into walls.

📱 Smart Home IoT

Voice control for lighting, temperature, curtains. Humidity and air quality sensors — critical in 9 sqm where odors get trapped easily. Automatic climate adjustment.

🖨️ 3D Printing

Companies like ICON and Mighty Buildings print small homes in 24-48 hours, drastically reducing construction costs. Ideal for modular capsule housing.

🪟 Sliding Walls

Walls on ceiling rails (Gary Chang design): one room becomes 24. Folding stairs, hidden storage, collapsible doors — every centimeter counts.

📖 Read more: smart-home-2050

Size Comparison

Type	Size	Where?
Capsule Hotel	~2 sqm	Japan, worldwide
Nano-unit	< 18 sqm	Hong Kong, Toronto
Micro-apartment	14-32 sqm	New York, London, San Francisco
Co-living unit	9-17 sqm + shared areas	The Collective, Common, Ollie
Studio (classic)	25-45 sqm	Worldwide
Average US apartment	~80 sqm	United States

The Co-Living Model

The big shift isn't just about size — it's about philosophy. The co-living model says: “your room is small, but the city is your living room.” Instead of a large home, you share:

Kitchen — shared, professional-grade, 30-70 residents per floor
Laundry — “disco-launderette” (The Collective) or communal spaces
Gym, spa, cinema — built into the building
Co-working — offices in the same building, no commute needed
Garden/rooftop — outdoor spaces for relaxation

Companies like Starcity (San Francisco) convert old parking garages and offices into co-living: $1,400-$2,400/month, furnished room, wifi, cleaning, shared kitchen. The Guardian called it “a student dorm for adults.”

The Criticism: How Small Is Too Small?

"I have studied children in crowded apartments and low-income housing, and they can become withdrawn, with difficulty studying and concentrating."

— Susan Saegert, Professor of Environmental Psychology, CUNY

The Key ProblemsMental health — cramped conditions, isolation, inability for self-expression
Privacy — especially in co-living with multiple residents
Odors — in 9 sqm there isn't enough ventilation
Working from home — impossible in a nano-unit without a desk
Social pressure — “why do you live in a box?” stigma
Health & safety — fire safety, natural lighting, minimum standards

The UK sets a minimum standard of 37 sqm for new homes — but this doesn't apply to office conversions (permitted development rights since 2013), a loophole exploited by developers. In Seattle, local residents successfully pushed for a ban on new micro-apartments, arguing they “harm the character of the neighborhood.”

📖 Read more: 6G Internet: 10,000x Faster Than 5G

Global Impact: Where Micro Living Thrives

Housing crisis — London, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong: rents have skyrocketed, Airbnb effect amplifying the squeeze
Student housing — thousands of students without affordable homes, nano-units as a solution
Tourism — capsule hotels in city centers and tourist hotspots, lower cost alternative
Regulation gap — most cities lack a legal framework for co-living and micro-apartments
Climate advantage — warm-climate cities benefit: outdoor living — balconies, rooftops, plazas offset the tightness

Timeline

1972 Nakagin Capsule Tower — Kisho Kurokawa, Tokyo. 140 capsules × 10 sqm. Metabolism movement.

1979 Capsule Inn Osaka — first capsule hotel. Cost: ¥2,000-4,000/night.

2009 Gary Chang HK — 32 sqm → 24 rooms with sliding walls.

2016 The Collective Old Oak — 546 rooms, world's largest co-living, London. Carmel Place NYC — first micro-apartment building.

2022 Nakagin demolished — after 50 years, capsules preserved in museums.

2025+ 3D-printed micro homes — ICON, Mighty Buildings: a home in 24-48 hours, cost <$100K.

2030+ Smart capsule cities — robotic furniture routines, IoT standard, co-living mainstream.

Would You Live in 9 sqm?

The answer depends on where and why. A capsule apartment in Tokyo with robotic furniture, 5G, communal spa, and co-working is not the same as a 4 sqm nano-apartment in Rome without a window. Technology, design, and shared spaces can make even 9 sqm livable — if not ideal.

Capsule Apartment Micro Living Co-Living Nakagin Tower Smart Home Architecture Housing Crisis Future

Capsule Apartments: How We'll Live in 9 sqm