The Nakagin Capsule Tower Building (中銀カプセルタワービル) was a mixed-use residential and office tower in the upscale Ginza district of Tokyo, Japan designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa. Completed in two years from 1970 to 1972, the building was a rare remaining example of Japanese Metabolism alongside the older Kyoto International Conference Center, an architectural movement emblematic of Japan's postwar cultural resurgence. It was the world's first example of capsule architecture ostensibly built for permanent and practical use. The building, however, fell into disrepair. Around thirty of the 140 capsules were still in use as apartments by October 2012, while others were used for storage or office space, or simply abandoned and allowed to deteriorate. As recently as August 2017 capsules could still be rented (relatively inexpensively, considering its Ginza locale), although the waiting list was long. In 2022, demolition of the building was initiated. Attempts to raise funds to save it and campaigns to preserve it as a historic landmark were unsuccessful. The tower was scheduled to be disassembled starting April 12, 2022, with component units repurposed.

Design

Towers

The architect said that this building reflected that asymmetry is part of the Japanese tradition.

Capsules

Each capsule measured 2.5 × with a circular window 1.3 metre in diameter at one end; the capsule functioned as a small individual living or office space, with an in-unit bathroom. Although the capsules were designed with mass production in mind, no additional capsules were produced after the initial construction and none of the original capsules were ever replaced. The capsules were fitted with utilities and interior fittings before being shipped to the building site, where they were attached to the concrete towers. Each capsule was attached independently to one of the two towers by only four high-tension bolts and cantilevered from the shaft, so that a single capsule could be removed easily without affecting the others. Plumbing for each capsule is connected through a flexible umbilical, approximately 1 m long. The original design concept proposed to combine specialized capsules into a larger living space, but it is not clear if this was implemented. The capsules were all-welded lightweight steel-truss boxes clad in galvanized, rib-reinforced steel panels which had been coated with rust-preventative paint and finished with a coat of Kenitex glossy spray after processing. The offsite factory that assembled the capsules also built intermodal containers and the welding jig for the capsules was modified from the container assembly line. Major structural elements were fireproofed with a coat of sprayed asbestos 45 mm thick, while the exterior panels were coated with the same substance to 30 mm thick. The original target demographic was bachelor Tōkyō salarymen. The compact pieds-à-terre included a wall of appliances and cabinets built into one side, including a kitchen stove, a refrigerator, a television set, and a reel-to-reel tape deck. A bathroom unit, about the size of an aircraft lavatory, was set into an opposite corner. A large circular window over the bed dominated the far end of the room. Optional extras such as a stereo were also originally available.

History

The Metabolist movement was launched in 1960 by a group of architects, designers, and critics including Kurokawa, Kiyonori Kikutake, Masato Otaka, Fumihiko Maki, 川添登, Kenji Ekuan, and Kiyoshi Awazu, with the publication of Metabolism: the Proposals for New Urbanism at the World Design Conference in Tokyo. The group advocated for the development of megastructures which largely were not realized due to changes in the 1970s resulting from energy crises and environmental considerations. Kurokawa began exploring modular capsule architecture with the design of the Takara Beautilion at Expo '70 in Osaka, which used a framework of steel tubes to support stainless steel-clad cubic capsules displaying beauty products from Takara Holdings. At the same exposition, Kurokawa also designed a capsule house, suspended from the space frame roof of the Symbol Zone. Impressed by the Beautilion, Torizo Watanabe retained Kurokawa to design a similar permanent building for his real estate company, Nakagin, to serve business owners and employees as a second home for occasional overnight stays in central Tokyo.

Construction, 1970-1972

Construction occurred both onsite in the upscale Ginza district of Tokyo, and off-site. On-site work included the two towers with their energy-supply and piping systems and equipment, while the capsule parts were fabricated and assembled at a factory 450 km from Tokyo. Five to eight capsules were attached per day, and the capsule attachment process took thirty days to complete. Due to on-site storage and traffic limitations, only the capsules that were to be attached that day were delivered overnight. Nobuo Abe was a senior manager, managing one of the design divisions on the construction of the Nakagin Capsule Tower. As completed, the building was intended to serve mainly visiting businessmen, primarily as a hotel, but offering some studio apartments for short-term stays. The maximum cost of a capsule was US$14600 1972 in 1972.

Update proposals and demolition decision, 2006-2022

The capsules could be individually removed or replaced, but at a cost: when demolition was first being considered in 2006, it was estimated that renovation would require approximately ¥6.2 million per capsule. The original concept was that individual capsules would be repaired or replaced every 25 years; but the capsules deteriorated since the repairs were never done. 80% of the capsule owners had to approve demolition, which was first achieved on April 15, 2007. A majority of capsule owners, citing squalid, cramped conditions as well as concerns over asbestos, voted to demolish the building and replace it with a much larger, more modern tower. In the interest of preserving his design, Kurokawa proposed taking advantage of the flexible design by "unplugging" the existing boxes and replacing them with updated units. The plan was supported by the major architectural associations of Japan, including the Japan Institute of Architects; but the residents countered with concerns over the building's earthquake resistance and its inefficient use of valuable property adjacent to the high-value Ginza. Kurokawa died in 2007, and for a time a developer for renovation had yet to be found, partly because of the late-2000s recession. Opposing slated demolition, Nicolai Ouroussoff, architecture critic for The New York Times, described Nakagin Capsule Tower in 2009 as "gorgeous architecture; like all great buildings, it is the crystallization of a far-reaching cultural ideal. Its existence also stands as a powerful reminder of paths not taken, of the possibility of worlds shaped by different sets of values." In 2010, the hot water to the building was shut off. In 2014 Masato Abe, a capsule owner, former resident and founder of the "Save Nakagin Tower" project stated that the project attempted to gain donations from around the world to purchase all of the capsules and preserve the building. In 2018, a real estate company wanted to redevelop the tower and purchased the land and a few capsules, but failed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021, a number of outlets reported that the management company of the building had voted to sell the complex to the original landowner, reigniting speculation over potential demolition and redevelopment. As of November 2021, the building housed 20 tenants. An attempt to sell it to a new owner fell through.

Ultimate demolition and digital archive, 2022

The demolition of the tower began on April 12, 2022. Demolition of the Nakagin Capsule Tower Building began on April 12, 2022. Since the building was regarded as a masterpiece of Metabolist architecture, a project team led by Gluon had launched a 3D digital archiving project to preserve the entire building in 3D data in order to preserve its architectural value. In this project, the entire building was scanned using a combination of laser scan data that accurately measures distances in millimeters and more than 20,000 photographs taken by cameras and drones. Augmented reality of the Nakagin Capsule Tower Building was also unveiled.

Since 2022

The Nakagin Capsule Tower Building Preservation and Regeneration Project preserved 23 capsules including A1302, which was saved by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Sixteen of the 23 preserved capsules have new destinations: Shochiku has since put two capsules on permanent display and as of 2024, five capsules will be placed at the coast in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo.

Other Kurokawa capsule constructions

Kurokawa completed "Capsule House-K" in 1973, near the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano, using four capsules the same size as those from the Nakagin Capsule Tower as specialized rooms for a holiday house. "Capsule House-K" was owned by Kurokawa's studio until it went bankrupt, and subsequently was purchased by his son; it was made available for short-term rental for groups of up to seven people through Airbnb starting in May 2022. In 1976, four years after the Nakagin Capsule Tower was completed, a 10-storey showroom for Sony Corporation was completed near Shinsaibashi in Chūō-ku, Osaka, using a similar modular design from Kurokawa with stainless steel-clad capsule restroom modules hung from the central tower. Sony Tower (Osaka) was demolished in 2006.

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