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Japan calls time on the Nakagin Capsule Tower, a once futuristic vision of ‘metabolism’ architecture
- The Ginza landmark designed by Kisho Kurokawa was completed in 1972 with a plan that each of its 140 capsules would be upgraded every 25 years
- Half a century later, not one has been replaced and the firm that owns it has finally lost patience. For now it is a time capsule of a time when rotary phones and reel-to-reel tape recorders were state-of-the-art
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On Tokyo’s already futuristic skyline, the Nakagin Capsule Tower stands out. But it may not do so for much longer.
On the western edge of the upmarket Ginza district, the 13-storey building catches the eye as a complex of 140 cubed capsules stacked almost haphazardly atop one another. From each identical unit, bolted onto the central tower, a single, circular window stares out over the city like an eye.
Widely considered to be a masterpiece of modern architecture, the Nakagin was designed by Kisho Kurokawa and was completed in 1972. Kurokawa was a leading light in the “metabolism” architectural movement, which proposed that buildings and cities evolve in tandem with changes in the dynamic societies that surround them.
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His intention was for individual capsules to be replaced every 25 years, with the interiors of the 10-square-metre units updated and fitted with the latest technologies. Nearly 50 years ago, each of the cubes had a built-in rotary phone, a desk that pulled down from the wall and a reel-to-reel tape recorder – all state-of-the-art for the time – but there were no cooking facilities and the bath-toilet unit is the same size as a modern aircraft lavatory.
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Ironically, for a building that was designed to be replaced and upgraded, not one of the units has been swapped out since it was completed.
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