ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the Nakagin Capsule Tower, an iconic design by Kisho Kurokawa, often considered the best work of Metabolism. It was built in 1972, and demolished in 2022. This chapter examines the building not only as an ultimate representation of the Metabolist ideas of megastructure and capsule, but also the architect’s unrealized vision of the future city planned for the generation of homo movens. The demolition of the Capsule Tower as well as several other important structures by Kenzō Tange and Metabolists reveals the crises in architecture and conservation and demands an alternative approach to architectural preservation. Instead of the artifact, the immaterial component of the design as manifestation of an urban utopia will carry Metabolism’s legacy beyond the life of the building.
