The Nakagin Capsule Tower returns to public view in a new light, as MoMA in New York opens an exhibition centered on its half-century lifespan. Built in Tokyo’s Ginza district in 1972 and dismantled in 2022, the structure was once among the clearest architectural expressions of Metabolism in Japan, a movement that sought to mirror natural growth and transformation in the built environment. Now, through a single, fully restored capsule and a constellation of archival materials, MoMA reactivates that legacy with the goal of inspiring inquiry over nostalgia.

Presented in the exhibition is capsule A1305, originally situated on the uppermost floor. For its display, it has been returned to near-original condition. Fragments of other salvaged units complete the restoration, from its modular furnishings to the audio controls and Sony color TV that defined its compact domesticity. Surrounding the capsule are more than 40 materials drawn from the tower’s five-decade history — models, promotional leaflets, film reels, and interviews that reveal how these micro-units adapted to lives far beyond their initial purpose. In a city shaped by constant renewal, this retrospective probes what it means to preserve an architectural concept. The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower is on view at MoMA from July 10th, 2025 until July 12th, 2026.

installation view of The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, on view at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, from July 10th, 2025, through July 12th, 2026 | photo by Jonathan Dorado

kishō Kurokawa’s Unfolding Vision

MoMA exhibits The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower as an investigation into the iconic structure, which was originally imagined by architect Kishō Kurokawa as a machine for living that could regenerate itself. While the concrete towers were to remain as infrastructural anchors, the capsules were intended to be swapped out as needs evolved. While that replacement never came, the life of the tower defied stillness. The museum’s curatorial team, led by Evangelos Kotsioris and Paula Vilaplana de Miguel, foregrounds the tower’s informal transformations — capsules turned into galleries, DJ booths, or quiet spaces of solitude — bringing a portrait of architecture shaped by use that transcends its intended programming.

By acquiring capsule A1305 in 2023, MoMA ensured a rare physical survival of a building long dismissed as unmaintainable. It is one of just fourteen capsules worldwide to have been carefully reassembled in original form. Visitors will be able to experience the unit in full during selected member activations, reinforcing the tower’s original intent as a space to be inhabited. The Nakagin Capsule Tower’s presence at MoMA sits within the museum’s wider ambition to question permanence, authorship, and the mutable nature of design.

Kishō Kurokawa in front of the completed Nakagin Capsule Tower, 1974. image by Tomio Ohashi

Extending the Conversation around nakagin capsule tower

MoMA’s exhibition The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower extends beyond the gallery. A companion book authored by Kotsioris for the MoMA One on One series explores the structure’s life cycle, from its speculative roots to its final days. With rarely published documents and firsthand accounts from the building’s last residents, the volume deepens the narrative around this experimental habitat. A suite of programs in partnership with Japan Society will also unfold throughout the exhibition’s yearlong run, framing the project within both its original context and its new American audience.

Kisho Kurokawa, Architect & Associates (Tokyo, est. 1962). Nakagin Capsule Tower, Tokyo. 1970–72. exterior view. 1972. image by Tomio Ohashi

installation view of The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, on view at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, from July 10th, 2025, through July 12th, 2026 | photo by Jonathan Dorado

installation view of The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, on view at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, from July 10th, 2025, through July 12th, 2026 | photo by Jonathan Dorado

images from Nakagin Capsule Style (Tokyo: Soshisha, 2020), showing Wakana Nitta (aka Cosplay Koe-chan) in her capsule, which she uses as a DJ-booth. courtesy Tatsuyuki Maeda / The Nakagin Capsule Tower Preservation and Restoration Project, Tokyo, Japan

night time at the Nakagin Capsule Tower, with Mr. Takayuki Sekine seen through the window of capsule B1004, 2016. image © Jeremie Souteyrat

Kisho Kurokawa, Architect & Associates (Tokyo, est. 1962). Capsule A1305 from the Nakagin Capsule Tower. 1970–72; restored 2022–23. Steel, wood, paint, plastics, cloth, polyurethane, glass, ceramic, and electronics, 8′ 4 3/8″ × 8′ 10 5/16″ × 13′ 10 9/16″ (255 × 270 ×423 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder, Alice and Tom Tisch, and the Nakagin Capsule Tower Preservation and Restoration Project, Tokyo

installation view of The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, on view at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, from July 10th, 2025, through July 12th, 2026 | photo by Jonathan Dorado

Noritaka Minami. B1004 I, from the series 1972 (2010–22). 2011. archival pigment print, 20 × 25″ (101.6 × 127 cm) image © Noritaka Minami

Noritaka Minami. A503 I, from the series 1972 (2010–22). 2017. archival pigment print, 20 × 25″ (101.6 × 127 cm) image © Noritaka Minami

‘A twenty-first century home that thoroughly pursues functionality: Nakagin Capsule Manshon (Ginza),’ cover of promotional brochure for the Nakagin Company, 1971. image courtesy Tatsuyuki Maeda / The Nakagin Capsule Tower Preservation and Restoration Project, Tokyo, Japan

Kiyoshi Awazu. poster included with Kurokawa Kishō no sakuhin (Kisho Kurokawa’s work) (Tokyo: Bijutsu shuppan-sha, 1970). 1970. screenprint, 40 3/16 × 28 9/16″ (102 × 72.5 cm). image © Kiyoshi Awazu

project info:

name: The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower

museum: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) | @themuseumofmodernart

on view: July 10th, 2025 — July 12th, 2026

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In his wooden block set, Oscar Diaz draws inspiration from Tokyo’s iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower, a mixed-use structure conceived by renowned Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. 20 stackable wooden blocks and a hexagonal wooden base allow for endless combinations, encouraging creativity in reimagining the capsule tower’s unique form. Maintaining balance as blocks are added is the main goal, simulating the delicate equilibrium of the original building. Players continue stacking until only the red blocks remain, which must then be carefully placed on top, testing the stability of the entire creation. Crafted from beech wood and colored with water-based pigments, these pieces offer a tactile connection to Kurokawa’s avant-garde architecture. 

all images courtesy of oscar diaz

iconic nakagin capsule tower turns into a wooden toy

Completed in 1972, the Nakagin Capsule Tower was a pioneering example of modular architecture, embodying the Japanese Buddhist concept of renewal. Kurokawa envisioned the building as a temporary, adaptable structure, capable of evolving like a living organism. Although the tower was disassembled in 2022, Oscar Diaz aims to revive its innovative spirit through this wooden block set, which invites players to explore the principles of modular design.  The set by the industrial designer comes with a cotton bag for easy storage, making it a playful and practical tribute to one of Tokyo’s most notable architectural works.

each block can be positioned in multiple orientations to balance the tower as it is being built

the two red blocks reference the tower’s original structural elements

each wooden block represents one of the Nakagin tower capsules, with their characteristic round window

the resulting object serves as a memento of this Japanese avant-garde architectural masterpiece

this wooden block set invites players to explore the principles of modular design

there is no right or wrong way to stack each block

the Japanese Capsule Tower set is composed of twenty stackable wooden blocks and a hexagonal wooden base

players continue stacking until only the red blocks remain

the blocks can be configured in a wide range of combinations

although the tower was disassembled in 2022, Oscar Diaz aims to revive its innovative spirit

project info:

name: Japanese Capsule Tower
designer: Oscar Diaz | @oscardiazstudio

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: thomai tsimpou | designboom

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On May 18, 2023, The San Francisco Museum of Art (SFMOMA) became the first museum to acquire a Capsule from the iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower built in Ginza, Tokyo, in 1972. One of architect Kisho Kurokawa’s earliest projects, the landmark spanned thirteen floors and featured two central towers with 140 small, prefabricated living units (capsules) attached to them — a unique design emblematic of Japan’s post-war Metabolism movement. Sadly, on October 5, 2022, the city tore down the central tower and most of the capsules. 23 units were successfully saved through the extraordinary efforts of the Nakagin Capsule Tower Preservation and Restoration Project, led by Tatsuyuki Maeda. 

San Francisco Museum of Art (SFMOMA) | image by Jon McNeal, © Snøhetta

From these saved units, SFMOMA (see more here) selected Capsule A1302 to include as part of its Japanese architecture, design, and photography collections. Originally owned by Kurokawa himself, this living unit boasted a prime location on the tower’s highest floor and was featured in several movies. A1302 has been carefully restored in close conversation with the architect’s office, curators, and historians; it contains original features and electronics available to buyers who customized their units in 1972. Given its small dimensions (2.5 m x 4 m x 2.5 m), the Capsule’s new fate realizes Kurokowa’s wish that his creations not remain fixed but rather move to other locations.

In addition to SFMOMA’s acquisition of Capsule A1302, the museum has collected nine photographs by Noritaka Minami from his ‘1972/Accumulated’ series, documenting the unique interiors of living at the Nakagin Capsule Tower between 2010 and 2022. You can catch designboom’s feature on Minami’s photographs here. 

Nakagin Capsule Tower facade (2011) | image © Noritaka Minami – archival pigment print

on impermanence: symbolizing japan’s metabolism movement

Revisiting its story, the Nakagin Capsule Tower was part of the Metabolism movement, an architectural ideology founded in post-war Japan between the late 1950s and early 1960s. A group of young architects and designers, including Kiyonori Kikutake, Kisho Kurokawa, and Fumihiko Maki – all heavily influenced by the architect Kenzo Tange – created the Metabolism manifesto. Kisho Kurokawa was effectively the youngest of seven cofounders of the Architectural Metabolist movement. By 1962, he opened his own practice, which is still active to this day, long after his passing in 2007, at the age of 73. 

The Tokyo-based Metabolist architects put forward a distinctly Japanese architectural approach that recognized the impermanence of buildings, technology, and people and the longevity of concepts, traditions, and nature. More specifically, they based their manifesto on the Japanese concept of ‘shinchintaisha’, a biological term for cell adaptation to sustain life. This term also refers to the Buddhist nototion of renewal and regeneration. Following this concept, the Metabolist principle proposes architectural megastructures that are not static entities but rather dynamic ones that can organically change, respond, and adapt to their context. 

capsule being moved | image courtesy PR TIMES

The Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo is one of a few built works during the peak of the Metabolism movement period. The idea was that individual living units could be replaced or even moved to different locations. Initially billed in the real estate documents as ‘Business Capsules’ for private workspaces during the week, the prefabricated units featured a single circular window, a full bathroom, a built-in bed, and a fold-down desk. The owner would also select optional interior features and accessories from a menu of options, which included the latest Japanese electronics of the day, such as a television and a reel-to-reel tape player.

pre-demoliton | image © Noritaka Minami, courtesy PR TIMES

The Capsules naturally gained incredible popularity at that time, their poignant yet poetic architectural sense of individuality capturing the attention and hearts of many. However, as the surrounding neighborhood of Ginza developed over the years, the Nakagin real estate company invested little in the Capsule Tower’s maintenance, leading to its partial demolition in October 2022. With the remaining 23 Capsules successfully saved from annihilation, Tatsuyuki Maeda, SFMOMA, and other leading figures that contributed to the units’ preservation, are exploring what new meanings and impact these Capsules could hold today when separated from the tower as a whole.

pre-demoliton | image © Noritaka Minami, courtesy PR TIMES

image courtesy Nakagi Capsule Tower Preservation and Restoration Project

unveiling the ‘Capsule Renewal Project’

So, what about the post-demolition fate of these remaining capsules? The Nakagin Capsule Tower Building Preservation and Restoration Project launched the ‘Capsule Renewal Project’ earlier this year as an initiative to repurpose he living units’ architectural function. The process included successfully transferring the 23 capsules from the demolished Nakagin Tower and displaying them at museums like SFMOMA, galleries, and commercial facilities, and even using them as lodging in Japan and overseas. All capsules have already been restored under the supervision of Kisho Kurokawa Architects and Associates and have been transported to the concerned parties since March, with the public release of capsules having begun in April 2023.

Capsule A1302 | image © Nakagin Capsule Tower Preservation and Restoration Project

Capsule A1302 | image © Nakagin Capsule Tower Preservation and Restoration Project

inside the capsule after restoration | image © Shinjiro Yamada

from living unit to moving ‘YODOKO+’ trailer

Part of the renewal project includes converting one of the retrieved capsules into a moving trailer for ‘YODOKO+’, a design brand by Yodogawa Steel Works. The company joined forces with the Nakagin Capsule Tower Preservation and Restoration Project, Toshihiko Suzuki of Kogakuin University‘s Faculty of Architecture, and ATELIER OPA Co., Ltd. to bring this unique project to life. ‘From now on, we will use this ‘Moving Nakagin Capsule’ to symbolize our design brand ‘YODOKO+’. As an unveiling, we will exhibit the ‘Moving Nakagin Capsule’ at outdoor exhibitions held in various places from April to June 2023,’ writes Yodogawa Steel Works. 

creating exhibition and sales booths at ‘shutl’

Partaking in the initiative of repurposing the Nakagin Capsules is the Japanese entertainment company Shochiku. The acquired two capsules will be part of its new space dubbed ‘SHUTL’ in Higashi Ginza, opening in fall 2023. Each capsule will be converted into a kind of booth to plan and hold exhibitions and sales of arts and crafts, as well as performances events.

‘The purpose is to promote the fusion of culture and modern culture and the metabolism of Japanese culture itself. This space can be rented from one capsule, and it is possible to develop various unique projects that utilize the space and features of the capsule. The works can be sold on the spot, and it is expected to promote organic encounters and exchanges with the customer base that can only be met in the Higashi Ginza area. We also plan to develop projects and events that embody the concept of this space as independent projects curated by our company and Magazin Co., Ltd., which is entrusted with the operation,’ shares Shochiku.

visualization of ‘SHUTL’ with two capsules turned into booths | image courtesy PR TIMES

The regeneration project does not end here. The preservation team is actively expanding its horizons to work on exhibiting and reusing the saved capsules by partnering with other like-minded organizations and companies. You can check out the Instagram page of the Nakagin Capsule Tower Preservation and Restoration Project to stay up to date with its journey and news. 

Nakagin capsule reproduced as a trailer capsule | image © Shinjiro Yamada

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Chicago-based visual artist Noritaka Minami takes us on a nostalgic tour of the Nakagin Capsule Tower in his photo series exhibition, ‘1972/Accumulations’. Running from September 22 until December 8 at MAS Context Reading Room in Chicago, the display features images taken over the course of the last decade. The series captures the individuality of each capsule, accumulated through various narratives from people who lived there once. 

Designed in 1972 by architect Kisho Kurokawa, the Tower building stood as an emblematic example of metabolism architecture in the heart of Tokyo, until its demolition back in April of this year. Some of the capsules were preserved and revived into second houses and hobby-style dwellings, while others will be showcased in museum installations around the world. One hundred forty removable apartment units had assembled its body, reflecting the future of urban living envisioned by the renowned architect in postwar Japan. However, the building stayed a reminder of a future that never materialized in the wider society and constituted an architectural anachronism in the city of Tokyo.all images ©Noritaka Minami  

capturing the individuality of each capsule

Noritaka Minami’s ‘1972/Accumulations’ series at MAS Context Reading Room (see more here) documents Tokyo’s Nakagin Capsule Tower. Through this exhibition, the artist investigates the evolution of a building that proposed a radical prototype for a new mode of living and captures how this vision of the future appears in retrospect.

His series reports the various states of the capsules changing through the passage of time. Some units retain the original futuristic furnishings, while some others see a variety of modifications undertaken over the years, including also spaces that are not habitable anymore. Most of the images are taken from the same angle with the large aperture in the middle as the protagonist. One could say that the units looked identical since they shared similar structural arrangements. However, Minami’s photographs prove the uniqueness present in each space, drawing from individuals that once inhabited those spaces.

some units retain the original futuristic furnishings

some capsules see a variety of modifications

the interior is filled with stories from people who lived there once

facade of the iconic building in Tokyo

project info:

name: 1972/Accumulations

photographer: Noritaka Minami

location: MAS Context Reading Room, Chicago, IL 

dates: 22 September until 8 December, 2022

The post ‘1972/accumulations’ photo series captures the individuality of nakagin tower’s capsules appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

After 50 years, architect Kisho Kurokawa’s most famous metabolist vision for an evolving architecture has been dismantled — this week the first pods of his iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower have been unplugged for the first and last time, many of them headed to museums for individual display. It is a bittersweet ending for the famous pair of towers, as the 144 modular ‘living cells’ never meant to live permanently at the same plot tucked away in Tokyo‘s Ginza neighborhood, but were intended to be continually unbolted from the central shaft to travel between the many other capsule towers which had sadly never been built.

The concept was avant-garde when the project was built in 1970, although after decades without proper maintenance, the structure has outlived modern construction guidelines and has been rendered dated. Public efforts to salvage the tower have led to the establishment of the Nakagin Capsule Tower Building Preservation / Regeneration Project (see here), which has been renovating capsules in place since 2014 (see designboom’s previous coverage here).

image via twitter

viewing the dismantling process, now underway

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by 中銀カプセルタワービル/ Nakagin Capsule Tower (@nakagin_capsule_tower)

image courtesy of museum of modern art saitama

previous coverage: May 2021, July 2021, July 2009

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UPDATE 04/05/2022: After months of uncertainties, the Nakagin Capsule Tower will be demolished on April 12, 2022. Regardless of the worldwide petitions claiming its preservation, the building will definitely come down. The good news is that some of the capsules will be preserved and regenerated (read more on designboom here) to become second houses and hobby-style dwellings. They will also be showcased in museum installations around the world.  

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Designed in 1972 by architect Kisho Kurokawa, the Nakagin Capsule Tower stands as an emblematic example of metabolism architecture right in the heart of Tokyo, up until today. However, that could change very soon, as reports reveal that the new tower owner intends to proceed with a large-scale redevelopment, with the entire building facing demolition. Although no official announcement has been issued, the tower’s demise has been discussed intensely during the last years, due to the structure’s unsafe condition and its incompatibility with current seismic standards.

image by sava bobov

THANKFULLY, THE PODS WILL BE PRESERVED AND REGENERATED

Kisho Kurokawa formed the Nakagin Tower as an asymmetrical arrangement of concrete pods — a bold, dynamic structure that grows organically and adapts to its urban surroundings. Although the architect intended for the tiny capsules to be replaced every 25 years, the two-tower structure remains unaltered till now, 49 years after its completion. In addition, with preservation initiatives failing to take solid actions against the building’s aging, and non-existent maintenance leading to damaged water pipes, the iconic tower seems derelict. 

Image by Juan Verdaguer Aguerrebehere

Tokyo Reporter has recently shared the latest details regarding the tower, stating that ‘the management association for the tower has decided to sell it. The move clouds the future of the structure, which could be headed for demolition.’ according to the news outlet, ‘A preservation push has been ongoing. But the management association for the building, which consists of capsule owners, voted to sell the building to the landowner earlier this year.’ Despite the building’s global acclaim and its undisputed significance in modern architecture history, the fate of the famous metabolism emblem seems uncertain. 

Image by Raphael Koh

Image by Denys Nevozhai

Image by Denys Nevozhai

Project Info:

Name: Nakagin Capsule Tower
Architect: Kisho Kurokawa
Original Completion: 1972
Location: Ginza, Tokyo, Japan

The post kisho kurokawa’s nakagin capsule tower in tokyo to be demolished on april 12, 2022 appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

the regeneration project is supported through crowdfunding efforts with the cooperation of kisho kurokawa architect & associates.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by 中銀カプセルタワービル (@nakagin_capsule_tower)

header image by susann schuster

the renovation and reuse effort is being let by the nakagin capsule tower building preservation / regeneration project, which had been renovating capsules in place since 2014. individual units have since been repurposed to exceed the original ‘businessman’s’ programming to become second houses and hobby-style dwellings. since 2018, the project has been operating ‘monthly capsules’ that allow accommodation for one month. in about two and a half years, monthly capsules have been occupied by a total of more than 200 people. meanwhile, the founders have removed and documented 50 of the 140 capsules, one of which is on display at museum of modern art saitama, a building also designed by kisho kurokawa in 1982.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by 中銀カプセルタワービル (@nakagin_capsule_tower)

image courtesy of museum of modern art saitama, ‘nakagin capsule tower building ginza white ark’

image courtesy of nakagin capsule tower building preservation / regeneration project

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all images courtesy of shyue woon

the nakagin capsule tower was built in 1972 and is situated in the ginza neighborhood of tokyo. designed by kisho kurokawa, the 13-story block contains a mixture of residential and office space and became famous for its futuristic, modular style. today, the tower has fallen into disrepair, but it is still known as a hallmark of innovative and unconventional architecture. 

architect and photographer, shyue woon explains, ‘I grew obsessed with the tower and its madly visionary architect – by bringing the future into the present, and the tragedy of not able to dictate the evolution once human/economics imperfection intervenes. I attempt to construct an imaginary kafkaesque narrative on someone (the architect) being trapped in his own tubula-rasa, trying to escape for the crumbling meta-textual stage of his own creation.’

‘capsule’ is the second book from woon’s DARK CITIES trilogy, alongside ‘carpark’ and ‘euljiro’. marking his debut, the project is a series of three books of photographs re-imagining fringe spaces in the metropoles of singapore, tokyo and seoul.

book info:

book name: capsule

by: shyue woon

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom

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