Kisho Kurokawa: Nakagin Capsule Tower

A look inside the Nakagin Capsule Tower, a landmark of the Japanese Metabolist movement that stood for over 50 years

Comprised of two steel and concrete towers outfitted with 140 prefabricated living capsules, the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo is one of the most iconic and influential architectural marvels of the postwar period. A touchstone of the Metabolist movement, the tower was designed by the office of Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa (1934-2007) and completed between 1970 and 1972. Each capsule was intended for single occupancy and came outfitted with its own ensuite bathroom, a foldout desk, a telephone, a reel-to-reel tape player, a Sony color television and a ＂porthole＂ window overlooking the city. In this volume of the MoMA One on One series, curator Evangelos Kotsioris delves into the groundbreaking design, construction, evolution and ultimate need for the demolition of this remarkable structure in 2022. It is published in advance of MoMA’s exhibition of one of the original capsules, the first to be publicly shown in the United States.