Capsule living! Please help!
Hello, guys and gals.

Almost an hour ago I came up with an idea and I wanted to go back to writing a report but now I can't get it out of my head.

I just came back from a discussion on /r/pics about capsule hotels in Japan, which got me thinking about all the people who said they would happily live in one of these places as long as it's super cheap, especially in the city where rents are usually high. 

And from my experience this is true: Countless of people just want a cheap option to live, especially as long as they don't make their own money, yet. As a student. As a person abroad. Or while having to pay of a loan. Or just want to live in a place for a short time. Or... or...

Even I often was in that very situation.

So, while we discussed capsule hotels I made this comment:     http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1x97w8/my_weeklong_home_at_a_tokyo_capsule_hotel/cf9eluu

And now I want to develope that idea further.

My background is this: I managed real estate for many years now. However, this is limited to managing small to medium sized flats in smallish towns. I never run a professional business, it's more a family hobby.   

However, this would be run like an actual business. My idea is to write a business plan for an operation like this: http://imgur.com/lYAivXg

Sorry for shitty quality, this took literally less than 5 minutes to make. Before I take this seriously I want to get some more opinions on whether or not this is a shit idea to begin with and why.

The idea is to build a narrow, tall building and put capsules into it.    

I came up with some random specifics that sound reasonable on first glance just to visualize things:   
-Capsules: 2.5m long, 1.6m high, 1.0m wide, completely standardized and replaceable   
-Each capsule equipped with electricity outlets, light, and cable internet, one mattress, one pillow+blanket, one headboard, one chair that swings out of the wall in some way, one shelf between the two windows. The capsules should be as sound and fireproof as possible and feature lockable doors for living and storage space.    
-Windows: Windows open to the outside world, are not actually part of the capsule, basic safety features.    
-Storage space: Because there needs to be sufficient height for sitting upright at the windows, the resulting "gap" between two or more stacked capsules can be used as personal storage space.          
-Individual Floors: I'm thinking about a building 8 floors high. Each floor is equipped with two rows of double-stacked capsules facing both front and backside of the building, in between is a 2m corridor with escape exits put conveniently. Each floor holds community washroom(s), kitchen(s), and meeting room(s) appropriate for the amount of people in the building. A stack of 2 capsules will require each floor to be approximately 3-4m in height.

I guess rent should be somewhere between $100-$200/month (or what do you believe people are willing to pay for this) depending on how high quality and where exactly the building is situated.

As a student in Vienna I live in a dormitory room that's approximately 8m*4.5m*4m and I pay Euro 320/month. You could fit many more people into a much smaller space that would be easier to manage with my set-up.

As for realization.       
I have access to: Several architects I could hire for very cheap as they are friends of mine, among them a recent German graduate that graduated top of her *state* and already won 2 prizes. Electrical engineers (those might not be that useful) and construction draftsmen. Some business people who could potentially help me get enough financing.     
I guess I would need some foreign helpers for design of the capsules, maybe professionals from Japan? I really have zero experience in how to build buildings and how to finance it. I only know how to buy, sell, advertise, and rent them.



So, yeah guys... any ideas? Who has experience with this? Anyone? Who could tell me what's bad about it? Why hasn't it been done, yet? Or has it been done? What could go wrong? Where should I start? Should I actually flesh out my ideas and get a business plan done? 



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