Located on the east coast of the bay in Kyonan, the hostel was designed by Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects as five rectilinear wooden buildings with grey-painted exteriors and exposed timber interiors.

Three of the buildings accommodate guest facilities, including bathrooms, communal kitchen and dining areas, plus large Japanese-style rooms with tatami mats across the floor.

Compact bedrooms occupy the other two buildings and are stacked up on two storeys to make room for 12 in each block.

"All the rooms have a view of the Tokyo Bay, each one becoming a space like a ship's cabin," says Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects.

Each of the eleven-metre-long containers has a timber frame and follows similar dimensions to a shipping container to allow it to fit onto a freight truck. "The client requested guest units that had the possibility of future relocation or addition," explain the architects.

A car park is positioned behind the buildings, but could provide space for three extra buildings in the future.

Yasutaka Yoshimura Architects previously designed a holiday home that looks like a children's shape-sorter toy.

Other capsule accommodation to feature on Dezeen include the Sleepbox Hotel filled with portable sleeping capsules and a six-bed dorm by Atelier Van Lieshout.

Photography is by Yasutaka Yoshimura.

Here are some extra details from the architects:

Hostel in Kyonan
2012 / Chiba Japan / Hostel

This private training center has 2 capsule-hotel and 3 tatami-style buildings. They are positioned with various angles of axis and all the rooms have a view of the Tokyo Bay, each one becoming a space like a ship's cabin.

The client requested guest units that had the possibility of future relocation or addition. While clearing these requirements and in order to ensure the necessary dimension for the bedroom spaces with economy, we utilised a wooden structural frame on a standard freight-truck of adequate dimensions.

Location: Kyonan, Chiba, Japan
Principal use: hostel
Category: newly built
Structure: steel, 1 storey
Completion date: 2012

Site area: 1,013.22 sqm
Building area: 149.85 sqm
Total floor area: 149.85 sqm
Structural engineer: ASA
General contractor: Ajiro Koumuten

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News: Barcelona officials are outraged over plans to construct a 300-metre "space hotel" - complete with a zero-gravity spa and vertical wind tunnel - on an artificial island off the coast of the city.

Aimed at guests who "wish they could travel to distant galaxies", the €1.5 billion hotel designed by Spanish architect Erik Morvan would offer over 2,000 hotel suites and residences alongside a 24-hour "space mall" and a marina filled with parks, pools and beaches. Windows would feature transparent glass displays of the galaxy, which guests could turn on and off at the touch of the button.

US developer Mobilona submitted a request for planning permission to Barcelona City Hall last week, but city mayor Xavier Trias has already voiced objections. "We have no intention of turning Barcelona into a spectacle," he told Catalan news channel 3/24.

Describing the plans as "not in keeping" with his vision of the city, Trias commented: "We have no need or desire to take on projects of this nature. We are a city of culture, knowledge, of creativity, and of innovation, and our project [to develop the city] will follow a different path."

A representative from the Barcelona planning department also told the Telegraph newspaper: "This seems more suitable for somewhere like Dubai. Any plan to advance Barcelona must be in keeping with the present model of the city."

Mobilona's CEO Jerome Bottari is confident that the space hotel concept will be popular and has already unveiled plans for similar projects in Hong Kong and Los Angeles. "Mobilona creates the perfect blend of design and technology to simulate any place on earth, or in the universe," he said. "Immersive displays inside Mobilona Space Hotel on Barcelona Island will provide guests with stunning views of some of the most remote galaxies in our universe."

If plans go ahead, the building will become the tallest hotel in Europe.

Other controversial hotel designs from recent months include plans to build the world's largest underwater hotel in Dubai and a boutique hotel in a converted prison in the Netherlands.

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Located on the site of a former factory, Garden Terrace Miyazaki comprises a single two-storey building that features bamboo-clad walls and a large sloping roof with overhanging eaves.

A faceted timber canopy shelters the entrance to the hotel, leading through to a reception where guests are faced with a view of the courtyard.

Kengo Kuma and Associates designed this space as a "calm and tranquil environment", where a landscape of bamboo trees and pools of water provide a scenic setting to the glazed wedding chapel at its centre.

Restaurants and event rooms surround the other sides of the courtyard, while guest rooms are located on the first floor.

Kengo Kuma has completed several projects in recent months, including a timber-clad primary school in Tokyo, an installation of stone and water in Milan and an experimental house in Hokkaidō. See more architecture by Kengo Kuma.

Photography is by Fujinari Miyazaki.

Here's a short description from Kengo Kuma and Associates:

Garden Terrace Miyazaki

The hotel was built at a vast site near JR Miyazaki station, where a factory once stood. Around it houses and aparrments spread in no particular order.

Facilities of the hotel - guest rooms, banquet room and restaurants are arranged to circle the courtyard.

Loosely sloped roof came out as the result of each function underneath. It wraps the entire building - two-storey structure under the deep eaves.

Bamboo is planted and water is laid out in and out of the hotel and its courtyard, providing a calm and tranquil environment that stretches even to the residential area.

Completion: September 2012
Main use: hotel
Total floor area: 4562.04 sqm

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News: British firm Wilkinson Eyre Architects has won a competition to design a $1.5 billion hotel skyscraper on the harbourfront in Sydney, Australia.

The proposal by last year's World Building of the Year winners beat submissions from international firm Kohn Pedersen Fox and Chicago practice Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, which recently unveiled plans for Mumbai's tallest tower.

The news comes two months after plans were announced for what will be Australia's tallest building, a 388-metre-high tower in Melbourne, while last month British architect Grimshaw submitted plans for a 90-storey skyscraper in a suburb of Sydney.

Wilkinson Eyre's planned 235-metre-tall skyscraper, located in the Barangaroo South area near Sydney Harbour Bridge, will be occupied by a six-star luxury hotel, The Crown Sydney Hotel Resort.

The winning design is inspired by nature, according to the architects. "Its curved geometry emanates from three petal forms which twist and rise together," said Paul Baker, director at Wilkinson Eyre.

"The first petal peels off, spreading outward to form the main hotel room accommodation, with the remaining two twisting together toward the sky."

Chris Wilkinson, director of Wilkinson Eyre, said: "My ambition is to create a sculptural form that will rise up on the skyline like an inhabited artwork, with differing levels of transparency, striking a clear new image against the sky."

The building will contain around 350 guestrooms and suites, four restaurants, a day spa, rooftop pool and high-end shops.

Crown Resorts chairman James Packer said the building would be an "instantly recognisable" landmark for the city.

"Its iconic curves and fine lines celebrate the harbour and create an architectural 'postcard' that will help attract international tourists and assist Sydney to compete with other global destinations," he said.

Wilkinson Eyre's Gardens by the Bay tropical garden in Singapore was named World Building of the Year at last year's World Architecture Festival, where we filmed an interview with the firm's Chris Wilkinson.

Other projects by Wilkinson Eyre include a kilometre-long cable car over the river Thames in London and a PVC tent that hosted basketball during the London 2012 Olympics – see all architecture by Wilkinson Eyre.

Here's some more information from Crown Resorts:

Crown announces Wilkinson Eyre Architects as the Winning Design for Crown Sydney Hotel Resort

Crown Resorts today announced that Wilkinson Eyre Architects had been successful as the winning design for the Crown Sydney Hotel Resort. The joint judging panel unanimously recommended the Wilkinson Eyre design to Crown, following an extended competition to design the Crown Sydney Hotel Resort at Barangaroo South on the city's harbourfront.

The final three designs by internationally renowned architects Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill, Kohn Pedersen Fox, and Wilkinson Eyre Architects were judged by a panel consisting of representatives from Crown Resorts, Lend Lease, the Barangaroo Delivery Authority and the NSW Department of Planning. All were praised for their professionalism and innovative designs. The firms presented their designs to the judges last week, and the panel made a formal recommendation to Crown on the suitability of each design and its ability to achieve the desired vision and outcomes for Barangaroo and Crown.

Crown Resorts Chairman, James Packer, thanked the judging panel and congratulated Wilkinson Eyre and its key architects Chris Wilkinson and Paul Baker. "Wilkinson Eyre have an incredible record of achievement and I am certain they will deliver Sydney an iconic building we can all be proud of. This great city deserves a building that is truly special and Wilkinson Eyre's design delivers it. It's a wonderful moment for Crown."

Discussing the hotel's iconic sculptural design, Mr Packer said: "When completed, Crown Sydney will be instantly recognisable around the world. Its iconic curves and fine lines celebrate the harbour and create an architectural ‘postcard’ that will help attract international tourists and assist Sydney to compete with other global destinations."

On winning the design competition, Chris Wilkinson, Founding Director, Wilkinson Eyre Architects stated: "Sydney is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and it is a great privilege to design such a significant building on the waterfront. My ambition is to create a sculptural form that will rise up on the skyline like an inhabited artwork, with differing levels of transparency, striking a clear new image against the sky."

Paul Baker, Director, Wilkinson Eyre Architects added: "The architecture takes its inspiration from nature, composed of organic forms that provide an abstract, sculptural shape; it does not try to mimic any particular plant or flower but is derived from the specificity of the site and the client brief. Its curved geometry emanates from three forms which twist and rise together. The first form peels off, spreading outward to form the main hotel room accommodation, with the remaining two twisting together toward the sky."

Todd Nisbet, Crown's Executive Vice President – Strategy & Development, said: "Wilkinson Eyre are world renowned for their sustainable and iconic designs and their great attention to detail. The Gardens by the Bay in Singapore is an absolute standout, becoming one of the most recognised tourism assets in the world and an iconic image that is instantly recognisable and linked to Singapore’s new identity as one of Asia’s most important gateway cities."

In October 2012, Crown and Lend Lease invited a number of internationally acclaimed architects for their interest in participating in the Crown Sydney Hotel Architectural Design Competition. The brief to the architects stated: "Crown, Lend Lease and the Barangaroo Delivery Authority are seeking a bold and innovative design team to create Australia’s best hotel in Australia’s most exciting new precinct – a new landmark building on Sydney Harbour that will become a destination for international tourists and seekers of luxury."

Subject to receipt of all necessary approvals and subject to finalisation of commercial arrangements between Crown, Lend Lease and the BDA, the Crown Sydney Hotel Resort will sit on the Lend Lease commercial site at the north western corner of Barangaroo South and will have approximately 350 guestrooms and suites. The typical guest rooms will be some of the largest in Australia and the suites and villas will rival the best in Asia. There will be four restaurants, a café, an ultra-lounge, day spa, roof top pool and luxury retail facilities.

On the planning and development processes to follow, Mr Nisbet, said: "The designs are a result of a design competition initiated by Crown and Lend Lease to select an architect for the Crown Sydney Hotel Resort and are not a formal part of the planning approval process. In the near future, Crown in collaboration with Lend Lease will engage in public consultation and seek approval from the Barangaroo Delivery Authority as landowner to lodge an application to the Department of Planning and Infrastructure for all necessary approvals."

Lend Lease has an exclusive dealing agreement with Crown in relation to the development of the hotel resort at Barangaroo South and both parties are working towards final commercial arrangements. The Crown Sydney Hotel Resort Proposal is currently in Stage 2 of the NSW Government's Unsolicited Proposal process.

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Loïc Picquet renovated the interior of the single-storey farmhouse to accommodate a communal living and dining room, then added the timber-clad extension to create four guest rooms, each with a double bed and en suite bathroom.

The timber frame of the existing structure is exposed inside the building, so the architect followed suit by leaving wooden ceiling beams uncovered in each of the new bedrooms.

Floors are also wooden, while stable doors separate bedrooms from bathrooms and timber-framed cubbyholes contain extra beds and storage areas.

"A new wood construction was added as a natural and fluid extension of the old farm, not only renovating it but mostly honoring it by the use of its history and details," said the architect. "Niches were built in the walls and double doors were chosen over the regular ones, so that a special interaction between the bathroom and the room could be created."

A chunky wooden staircase with staggered treads leads to the new upper floor and marks the divide between the new and old structures.

New timber-framed panel windows were added to the old building, while square Velux windows were installed for each of the bedrooms in the extension.

Other renovated farm buildings to feature on Dezeen include a house in southern England, a converted cattle shed in Belgium and a reconstructed stone stable in Spain. See more renovation projects.

Photography is by Stéphane Spach.

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