Built in 1972, the Nakagin Capsule Tower is considered as Japan’s most prominent symbol of metabolism architecture. However, years of disrepair and decay have forced the owners to bring down the structure
The Nakagin Capsule Tower in Ginza, Tokyo. The 13-storey-tall building was designed by late Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. AFP
Minimalistic, avant garde, detail-oriented and a bow to traditionalism; if Japanese contemporary architecture had to be defined, these four words would be used to do so.
And one example that embodied Japanese architecture is the Nakagin Capsule Tower located in Tokyo. However, the building, which was considered to be the future, has a limited future. The structure will be demolished by mid-April, the building’s new owners have said.
About the Nakagin Capsule Tower
Considered an architectural curiosity, Nakagin, a 13-storey-tall, was built in 1972 at the corner of Tokyo’s Ginza district.
Designed by renowned architect Kisho Kurokawa, it is considered a prime example of Metabolism, an architectural movement that emerged from the ruins of World War II with a radical new vision for Japan’s cities.
Kisho Kurokawa was one of Japan’s leading architects of the 20th Century. In 1960, he became one of the co-founders of the Metabolist movement and became an advocate for buildings with a central core onto which modules and capsules could be attached.
He has been the brainchild behind several buildings in Japan — the National Ethnological Museum, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Modern Art, Osaka International Convention Center (Grand Cube Osaka) and the Oita Stadium.
Kurokawa passed away in 2007 at the age of 73.
Kurokawa originally envisaged that the 140 self-contained prefabricated capsules — with large round windows — could be individually removed and replaced.
Each capsule has an area of 10 square metres, with a unit bathroom, a television, a reel-to-reel cassette/radio and a rotary dial phone. Today, the capsules have grown dilapidated and outdated, with many of the apartments now sitting empty, used for storage and office space, or rented out to architecture enthusiasts on a short-term basis.
The landmark Nakagin Capsule Tower is an example of Japan’s postwar architectural design movement known as Metabolism. AFP
Demolition plans
Tatsuyuki Maeda, representative of the Nakagin Capsule Tower Building Preservation and Regeneration Project, had told The Guardian last year that preserving the architectural wonder in its current form had proved impossible, and hence, the demolition.
Plans to bring down the structure had first taken root in 2007 when the owners’ association voted to sell the tower to a property developer, who wanted to replace it.
However, the firm filed for bankruptcy in 2008, throwing the building’s fate into limbo.
In 2021, the building was acquired by a group of real estate firms operating under the name Capusule Tower Building (CTB). A spokesperson for the joint venture, Takashi Shindo, told CNN that the last residents had moved out last month, with demolition scheduled to begin 12 April.
Maeda says he did all he could to stop the demolition, but his efforts bore not fruit. One of the ways, Maeda had hoped to stop the building been torn down was to apply for protected status with UNESCO. Sadly, that didn’t work.
“Japan does not have the legislation to preserve this kind of architectural culture. It is unfortunate that one of the country’s most representative examples of modern architectural heritage will be lost,” he told CNN.
However, one can seek refuge in the fact that the owners plan to extract some of the white cuboid capsules before demolition begins.
“We don’t know yet how many capsules we’ll be able to save, but we plan to repair some deteriorated parts and refurbish them to send them to museums, for example,” Maeda told AFP.
“It’s not a complete end to the building, and I’m looking forward to seeing the capsules’ new life.”
Reactions
The architectural landmark became world famous and attracted thousands of tourists from all the world.
Such was its popularity that it found itself in Hollywood movies such as Hugh Jackman’s The Wolverine and celebrities such as Keanu Reeves and Francis Ford Coppola visited it.
The news of the building being demolished also found its way on Twitter, with some lamenting the news.
Another wrote, “Capsule Tower will be demolished soon… It will be very sad to see the building we admired go.”
“Finally it will be demolished. It’s valuable, but it was the right decision to dismantle it, as it had become quite shabby,” wrote another.
With inputs from agencies
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