Bed built into an "igloo of books"

Dav sez, "A friend of mine in Tokyo has built an incredible bookcase that completely surrounds his bed. It's like an igloo made of books. You have to see the photos." Link

• [Happy]

  Great us of space, but seems like it would be a nice dark environment for spiders.

• [Pipenta]

  I like the concept, I like the idea a whole lot. Cozy spaces to be with books! Even window seats flanked by bookcases delight me. But the design of this bed feels like retail display. What’s with the shingled roof element?

  Or maybe it looks like furniture from an upscale nursery school circa 1966. Creative playthings. Is this for a child? Maybe in that context in makes sense.

• [Takuan]

  cool idea. Thought perhaps have the books on the inside, but Tokyo? Too many earthquakes.

• [Mike8787]

  When I was getting my first bed set as a kid, the only thing I told my parents that it definitely needed was a bookcase. I, of course, only ended up with one shelf, but it was still an amazing purchase and so useful. I second the idea of turning the books inwards (though it might not look as inviting then) and also taking the structure. It seems a bit claustrophobia (at least, to me).

• [a_user]

  Why does he want a shin height table type area on the outside of the structure? It has no functional use – it’s too low to be a table, unless it was intended as a one person coffee table. If it’s intended to be a place to put things it’s awkward to use either having to kneel or stoop considerably to place or retrieve anything (could that be why nothing has been left on that area in the photo). It also can’t function as a traditional Japanese low table, thanks to the top and bottom of the area mirroring each other, you can’t sit under it.

  Secondly the access point is actually a box – in other words you have to walk on part of the wooden structure to get inside (and in fact the guy ended up putting a rug there to protect the wood in the picture above). There are enough surfaces around to give an open ended doorway stability, were they attached, without altering the design. That however was not the choice, for me it just seems redundant – an unnecessary repetition of the contours-supported-by-boxes theme.

• [chgoliz]

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  I think that’s a place to sit. Notice how there’s a backrest of sorts (concave curves) above the convex curve at seat level?

• [lava]

  boy, lots of arm-chair bookshelf designers here. Lets all see your bed bookshelf combo.

• [Takuan]

  that’s what the floor is for

• [Dav]

  I should point out that this piece is apparently named the Uroko House and it was built by Point Architects in Tokyo.

• [a_user]

  @Chgoliz I think you may be right about the chair

  @Lava that ‘people in glass houses’ argument would stick more if he’d designed and built it himself, if you read the caption on flickr, you’ll see he paid someone else to do both.

  Putting my money where my mouth is, I have in fact made a table book case. Originally it was our tv table for a the rather oddly shaped living room our last house had. All four legs held videos/dvds/cds as well as upper shelving for our stereo, since transmuted into my 4 year old son’s bookcase/toy storage and play table. The legs and upper book cases were mini flat packed shelving units I bought and the tabletop was wood cut to measure by a DIY supply shop. So I ‘designed’ and assembled it myself. I can supply pictures if you really want

• [jennee]

  This is so awesome. I don’t care about how and why he did it or how he uses it – it’s got BOOKS and it looks so damn cool.