Kengo Kuma’s Jyubako trailer home
Are you looking to downsize from your expensive city apartment? Or Maybe you’re just looking to simplify your life? Well now you can do so in style thanks to a collaboration between architect Kengo Kuma and Snow Peak, a Japanese manufacturer of outdoor goods.
Snow Peak has multiple retail outlets throughout Japan but the latest is opening on April 20 inside the brand new retail complex Ginza 6. To commemorate, the brand will begin taking order for Kengo Kuma’s trailer home “Jyubako” on that day. Jyubako (住箱) literally translates to “living box” and is a play on homonym (重箱) for the stacking boxes used to serve festive meals.
Kuma’s Jyubako has been in the works for a while. He originally conceived the idea for a mobile home during a trip to the Sahara Desert when he was a graduate school student. Since then he has distilled and perfected his concept. It’s now taken the form of a minimalist rectangular box made from hinoki plywood. When all the windows and doors are closed it can look simply like a large block of wood.
The standard model is priced at 3.5 million yen, which at today’s exchange rate is about $32,000 USD. It can be customized with electrical outlets and LED lighting for an additional cost. Owners must park the mobile home on private land but Snow Peaks will also let you park it on any of their 3 camp grounds across Japan.
Or you can just get a MUJI hut for about $10K less.
