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Nakagin Capsule Tower on July 10, 2014 during the author's stay in unit 907B. A makeshift drain pipe hangs from a capsule. The net was placed to protect the pedestrians on the street after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.
Source publication
Nakagin Capsule Tower (1972) by Kisho Kurokawa has been at the center of a preservation debate for over a decade. In the Metabolist spirit of continual growth, the architect designed the capsule living units to be replaced every 25 years while the concrete cores were to permanently remain. In the 43 years since its completion, no replacement has ta...
Citations
The concept of change through time due to manipulation with capsules is topical for capsule architecture. By these means the buildings can, theoretically, indefinitely prolong their lifespan. However, the rare built cases show drawbacks of this concept, and new ways of actual renovations are implemented. Such renovation cases show the peculiar approach how to repair the buildings of this typology. Therefore this paper is aimed to extract the main features of the concept of change and actual renovation techniques by grouping several ideas regarding the concept of change and new renovation approaches applicable for the typology of capsule architecture.
Nakagin Capsule Tower is a famous piece of Japanese architecture and an iconic representative of the architectural style named “capsule architecture”. The building consists of 140 independent capsules which became dilapidated through time and due to financial issues became difficult to renovate or replace them at once. However, the old capsules can be renovated one by one what shows the unique and more flexible approach possible for capsule architecture. This article traces the history of renovation of one of the capsules and the development of the new rental system called “monthly capsule”.
The realization of Modular Construction (MC) is impeded by several barriers, e.g., initial investment, logistics constraints, and negative perception. Design, a profoundly creative process to alleviate difficulties in the built environment, is prospected to enhance this construction method. Under this circumstance, many guidelines, recommendations, and avoidances have been proposed to design. However, every coin has two sides. This research, therefore, argues that MC also provides new design opportunities, which have not been yet extensively investigated. It does so by comprehensive literature review and detailed archival study of successful case studies. The result unveils that although MC, by nature, may impose several design limitations, e.g., design simplification, standardization, and limited dimension, it can also serve demands and construct an outstanding architectural design by, for example, a composition of three-dimensional unit, mass customization, and product prototype. This research creates a balanced view of MC in a design process, and highlights the new approach for further design and research development in this discipline. [Outstanding Paper Award]
