Nakagin Capsule Tower
Metabolist capsule apartment tower in Ginza, Tokyo (demolished 2022).
At a glance
| Source | Author | Role | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Rise and Fall of Japan’s Most Futuristic Building | The B1M | subject | Kisho Kurokawa’s Metabolist tower of 140 swappable prefab capsules was built in 14 months, finishing in March 1972. |
The Rise and Fall of Japan’s Most Futuristic Building — The B1M (2025)
Source: Original · Readwise highlight
the Nakagin Capsule Tower was unlike anything else you’ve seen before.
- Role: subject
- In the video: Kisho Kurokawa’s Metabolist tower of 140 swappable prefab capsules was built in 14 months, finishing in March 1972. No capsule was ever replaced; residents voted in 2007 to sell the site and the tower was demolished in 2022, with some capsules saved.
- Why it matters: The video’s subject: a ‘noble failure’ whose modular ideas outlived it.