Case Study #1: Nakagin Capsule Tower

Architect: Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Year: 1970-1972
Status: Completed
Program: Residential tower with a total of 140 capsule units
Size: 3,091 m²

Located in Ginza, Tokyo, and designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa, this 1972 project realizes the ideas of metabolism, exchangeability, and recyclability as the prototype of sustainable architecture.

When the residential area in Tokyo started to shift to the suburbs, this building was intended to be one tactical move to restore housing units to the central part of the city.

The individual units were mass-produced and fastened in the desired arrangement to the central core by high-tension bolts. Each room provides various facilities found in a single hotel room.

The design anticipates change and growth. By replacement or removal of the capsules, the appearance of the architecture changes over time, containing the potential for participation by the resident in determining its form. This building symbolizes individual human existence in the urban landscape. The concept also expresses the aesthetic of Metabolism, the aesthetic of transience.

This project has been shortlisted for the World Heritage by the International Committee of Docomomo International since 1996.