Those with a tendency to avoid small spaces may find the new Never Monday development a little hard to swallow as Belfast’s city centre goes compact.
Forget about getting the extended family round for Sunday dinner – these new bohemian and rather tiny apartments are certainly going to be a little short on space.
The ‘Never Monday’ project at Montgomery Street in the city centre, comprises 48 apartments starting from just under £80,000 – each fully furnished and decked out with all the modern technological accoutrements a city centre worker could require.
The pod-like homes are single space areas made up of a living room, kitchen and bedroom with residents also having access to a shared ground floor coffee shop, laundry facilities, gym and a rooftop garden.
Although new to Belfast, the concept has been around for some time with similarly designed ‘Lux Pods’ appearing across central London in the last year – again with the focus on technology and luxury gadgets helping to compensate on the rather cramped atmosphere.
With the average price of a house in Northern Ireland currently over £160,000 and with traditionally sized Belfast apartments approaching £150,000, this uber-modern way of living could be a perfect solution for young 20-somethings looking for their first home.
The concept stems from the idea of ‘capsule hotel’ pods which have begun springing up across densely populated areas of Japan such as Tokyo.
Guests are treated to a rather cosy fibreglass pod, stacked upon one another with some hotels capable of holding up to 700 people at a time.
Anyone still tempted by Belfast’s newest little living spaces can check out a full scale “pop-up pod” replica situated at Victoria House in Gloucester Street.
Background
Much of the inspiration for compact city centre living has been derived from the Japanese who have been pioneering the concept since the 1970s. The Nakagin Capsule Tower, built in 1972 was one of Tokyo’s first “micro home” buildings, made up of tiny capsules to be used as small living or office spaces.
