UX Architects entered a competition to design a meditation cabin for Tokyo, Japan. The brief was to create a space, with less than a 6sqm footprint, that would act as a place of relaxation and peace for its users in the city.
The Organic Oasis has been designed to act as a sanctuary of escape from the city, facilitating the mental and physical needs of those who feel trapped in the relentless urban and digital sprawl that is Tokyo. Relaxation, meditation and self care are the driving factors that fuelled the design, with the aim for us being to create a safe, peaceful space to escape the city and technology, into a calm,
simple oasis, created through design, nature and sound.
Traditional Japanese design elements help it to blend into its surroundings to a degree, while still standing out as an oasis to those who seek it. Shoji panels make up half of the proposal, while the other half consists of thicker, acoustically insulated CLT panels, clad with timber shingles on the exterior and an organic, undulating timber surface on the interior. Using nothing but these two local, basic and sustainable materials make the proposal suitable for transport, easy assembly/disassembly and lightweight.
Simple, traditional Japanese woodworking joints are used throughout, allowing the few components to slot into each other with ease and with minimal tools required. As demonstrated in the images around this allows for flexibility as to how open to the environment the sanctuary is, depending on where in Tokyo it is to be set, it also provides access to the cabin. The opening in the roof of the cabin lets sunlight in, allowing the users inside to be shielded from the harsh city while still feeling the sun on their skin, a vital part of maintaining good mental and physical health.