Japan’s Famous Nakagin Capsule Tower To Be Taken Apart & Distributed Separately
Images via Kakidai / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
When architect Kisho Kurokawa designed the iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower in 1972, he had envisioned for its housing units to be easily replaceable to keep the building in perfect condition. Alas, with ownership and funding problems, the concrete and steel structure aged in its entirety.
The tower’s modular trait will now serve its purpose, but it will heartbreakingly be to the building’s demise. A report by Dezeen details that the Ginza, Tokyo landmark will be disassembled to be individually donated to institutions or rented out.
The Museum of Modern Art Saitama already possesses one of the units for display, while the Centre Pompidou in Paris is apparently looking to collect a block.
For the remaining 139 units, owners of the Nakagin Capsule Tower are crowdfunding in hopes to raise enough money to renovate the capsules for new buyers or recipients.
The Nakagin Capsule Tower is a prime icon of Japanese metabolist design, a post-war movement that Kurokawa helped pioneer. Designed with single salarymen in mind, each apartment only measured eight feet by 13 feet and came with a porthole-style window. The building took just 30 days to complete.
Images via Kakidai / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Images via Jonathan Lin / Flickr (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Images via Roman Davydko / Unsplash (CC0)
[via Dezeen, images via various sources]
Also check out these recent news
