New York-based Islyn Studio seemed to European sleeper trains and Japanese capsule inns when designing the compact rooms of Now Now, a Manhattan hotel.
Now Now is located on Bowery in Downtown Manhattan and provides hostel-style lodging with single-occupancy cabins and shared services.
Islyn Studio was challenged to maximise the visitor expertise inside a minimal footprint, and utilise each sq. inch for function.
“Envisioned as a sanctuary for solo travellers, the 180 sleeper cabins boast small footprints and excessive design, channeling the nostalgia of European practice vehicles and the innovation of Japanese capsule inns,” mentioned Islyn Studio.
The lodge’s foyer unfolds as a collection of striped portals, between which cylindrical picket podiums set into tiled niches current self-check-in machines on one aspect and show merchandise on the opposite.
A seating space behind the stained-glass avenue facade follows the identical neutral-toned palette, throughout the trowelled plaster partitions, mosaic flooring and couch upholstery.
“The foyer contains a hanging interaction of tough, pure supplies and easy surfaces – a distinction that is each dreamlike and grounded, evoking a way of thriller and surprise,” mentioned Islyn Studio.
Every of the visitor cabins measures simply 32 sq. ft (3 sq. metres), however is designed to be as environment friendly as attainable for travellers.
Customized furnishings was created for storing baggage, securing valuables, watching films, hanging coats and extra, all inside the compact “cocoons”.
The only beds even have customized mattresses and embrace shades that may be drawn from the wavy-edged picket canopies to assist a superb night time’s sleep.
Sound machines, branded sleep masks and earplugs, and noise-cancelling headphones are additionally accessible, together with plush robes for the stroll to the showers.
In lieu of home windows, the cabins have open ceilings that permit gentle and air to circulate, whereas acoustic baffles stop noise from travelling.
Communal loos characteristic comfortable lighting and textured supplies throughout the open banks of sinks, and individually lockable bathrooms and bathe cubicles.
“The design is supposed to really feel acquainted, but one way or the other new — like one thing out of a dream — to create an area that appears each timeless and surprising,” Islyn Studio mentioned.
Now Now is longlisted within the lodge and short-stay inside class of the Dezeen Awards 2025, whereas Islyn Studio’s Brass restaurant in Manhattan made the restaurant inside listing.
The studio lately accomplished a Japanese restaurant in Miami Beach that blends “tropical brutalism with the magnificence of Japanese deco”.
The pictures is by Matt Kisiday.
Undertaking credit:
House owners: Dovetail & Co
Inside design agency: Islyn Studio
Inside design challenge crew: Ashley Wilkins (Proprietor), Emily Febrizio
Architect: Gene Kaufman Architect
Procurement: Dovetail & Co
Common contractor: Spring Roc
Lighting design: Tillotson Design Associates
