Nakagin Capsule Tower

Nakagin Capsule Tower was designed by Kisho Kurokawa as a landmark of the Metabolist movement. Two concrete service cores support prefabricated steel capsules, each conceived as a replaceable living unit bolted to the structure. The modular system expressed a vision of buildings that could evolve over time through plug-in parts. Although the capsules were never replaced as intended, the tower became an enduring symbol of Tokyo’s experimental postwar architecture.