Nov 09, 2021 (theguardian.com) - When it was built in 1972, it was the capital’s only example of the metabolism architectural movement – but time has caught up with the structure
It is an architectural curiosity that attracts admirers from around the world, an asymmetric stack of identical concrete boxes in a neighbourhood dominated by the gleaming glass edifices of corporate Japan.
But after occupying a corner of Tokyo’s Ginza district for almost half a century, the Nakagin Capsule Tower faces an uncertain future.
When it was built in 1972, Nakagin was the capital’s only example of the metabolism architectural movement, which fused ideas about megastructures with those of organic biological growth, and a physical expression of Japan’s postwar economic and cultural revival.
Its designer, the celebrated architect Kisho Kurokawa, envisioned its 140 self-contained prefabricated capsules as pieds-à-terre for professionals who wanted to avoid long weekday commutes to their suburban homes.
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With an area of 10 square metres, each capsule came with a unit bathroom, a Sony Trinitron TV, a reel-to-reel cassette/radio, a rotary dial phone and a large circular window through which generations of residents have viewed Tokyo’s ever-changing cityscape. In keeping with its metabolism roots, Kurokawa, who died in 2007, had intended for the capsules to be removed and replaced every 25 years.
But almost half a century on, time has caught up with the structure, now shrouded in netting to keep dislodged rust and concrete from falling on to passersby.
The few remaining residents are now having to accept that their homes and office spaces will soon disappear, amid reports that the building could be demolished next spring.
