NonA Weekly: NAKAGIN, NAKAGONE ✨
Image by @sacrepublicfc
Dear readers and friends,
The Nakagin Capsule Tower, an emblematic piece 🏆 of Japanese Metabolist architecture located in Tokyo, was sadly demolished 🚧 in 2023. The building’s unique 🌟 modular design comprised of 140 prefabricated capsules that could be individually replaced or reconfigured. This pioneering concept 💪 was intended to reflect the impermanence and changeability 🤯 of the post-war society. Despite efforts to preserve the tower as a vital piece of architectural heritage 🏛️, the building had been in a state of disrepair for years 😔. The capsules had grown outdated and lacked the necessary modern comforts 🛋️. A combination of escalating maintenance costs 💰, real estate pressures, and failure to achieve heritage 📝 listing sealed its fate. Its demolition 🏗️ represents a significant loss for 20th-century architectural history, highlighting the ongoing 📣 debate around the preservation of post-war modernist structures.
1. DEMOLISHING AN ARCHITECTURAL DREAM 💭
Know the story 📜 of NAKAGIN and why he thinks 🤔 it has captivated so many people over the years.
2. THE FINAL GOODBYE 👋 OR A CHANCE AT A SECOND DIGITAL LIFE?
The fate of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, has sustained a strong following since the announcement of its proposed demolition 🚧 in 2007. At first glance, it checks all the boxes of a FUTURISTIC and head-turning 👀 project that lures the attention of both architects and the general public.
3. RIGHTS TO REBUILD ✊ NAKAGIN CAPSULE TOWER FOR SALE
The Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo could soon be replicated in both real space and the metaverse 🌐, as its original architect Kisho Kurokawa’s studio is auctioning 🤑 the rights to REBUILD it.
4. PHOTOGRAPHER’S 📷 DECADE LONG SERIES ON THE ICONIC CAPSULE TOWER IN TOKYO
Photographer Noritaka Minami spent over a decade documenting 🎞️ the ICONIC Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo on large format cameras before it was demolished 🏗️.
5. METABOLIC MEMORIES: REMEMBERING 💭 THE NAKAGIN CAPSULE TOWER
The Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo 🇯🇵, marks the end of an era for the iconic Metabolist architecture movement, while its optimistic vision 🙌 of alternative FUTURES remains a noteworthy legacy
6. JAPAN’S LANDMARK CAPSULES COMING DOWN TO SIT IN MUSEUMS 🖼️
The preservation project calls for some of the CAPSULES to allow for real-life living in a separate locale 📍. Those in museums will be refinished by the Kurokawa architectural office 👷.
7. NAKAGIN CAPSULE TOWER 🗾
Metabolism is the first ☝️ Japanese architecture movement after the World War II. It envisioned a new direction for future Japanese architecture and urbanism. They created various ARCHITECTURE and urban plans 🗺️ with large, flexible and expandable structures. The Nakagin Capsule Tower is a rare built example of Metabolism.
Stay creative and see you all next week! 👋
Daniela
