following the news of the nakagin capsule tower‘s impending demolition, plans have moved forward on the regeneration of the project’s plug-in capsules. for forty-nine years, kisho kurokawa‘s nakagin capsule tower has stood as a collection of modular parts to an iconic whole. the work has represented metabolism‘s response to the modernized urban context, proposing an opportunity for the individual to establish their own space within a transitory lifestyle. now, the project continues to adapt as tokyo further modernizes. the plan is not to preserve the tower as it stands, but to celebrate the adaptive spirit of metabolism for the capsules’ reuse.

 

the regeneration project is supported through crowdfunding efforts with the cooperation of kisho kurokawa architect & associates.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by 中銀カプセルタワービル (@nakagin_capsule_tower)

header image by susann schuster

 

 

the renovation and reuse effort is being let by the nakagin capsule tower building preservation / regeneration project, which had been renovating capsules in place since 2014. individual units have since been repurposed to exceed the original ‘businessman’s’ programming to become second houses and hobby-style dwellings. since 2018, the project has been operating ‘monthly capsules’ that allow accommodation for one month. in about two and a half years, monthly capsules have been occupied by a total of more than 200 people. meanwhile, the founders have removed and documented 50 of the 140 capsules, one of which is on display at museum of modern art saitama, a building also designed by kisho kurokawa in 1982.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by 中銀カプセルタワービル (@nakagin_capsule_tower)

nakagin capsule tower regeneration
image courtesy of museum of modern art saitama, ‘nakagin capsule tower building ginza white ark’

nakagin capsule tower regeneration
image courtesy of nakagin capsule tower building preservation / regeneration project