The many lives of Nakagin Capsule Tower on display at New York's MoMA

Japan Times

11-07-2025

Despite a yearslong battle for its preservation, the Nakagin Capsule Tower designed by Kisho Kurokawa was dismantled in 2022. However, in a poetic exemplification of the tenets of the metabolism movement that it once represented, the beloved building continues its existence, albeit broken down in parts, akin energy from food metabolized in a body.
The Nakagin Capsule Tower Preservation and Restoration Project saved 23 of Nakagin's capsules and has been restoring a number of them under the supervision of Kisho Kurokawa Architects and Associates. The refurbished capsules started resurfacing in public as early as 2023, with a unit turned into a van by the Yodogawa Steel Works company. More units were acquired by the Museum of Modern Art Saitama, the Museum of Modern Art in Wakayama, M+ in Hong Kong, the National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.
From July 10, 2025, through July 12, 2026, MoMA is displaying the A1305 capsule in its street-level galleries in Manhattan as part of a larger exhibition titled 'The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower,' showcasing the 50-year history of the building through nearly 45 pieces of contextual material. 'These materials include the project's only surviving model from 1970–72; original drawings, photographs and promotional ephemera; an archival film and audio recordings; interviews with former tenants; and an interactive virtual tour of the entire building,' states MoMA's press release.
MoMA members have the opportunity to enter the Nakagin capsule during a number of special activation events during the exhibition. |
Jonathan Dorado
"The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower" is on view in the street-facing galleries of The Museum of Modern Art, New York, from July 10, 2025, through July 12, 2026. |
Jonathan Dorado
Evangelos Kotsioris, who led the exhibition's curatorial team, told The Yomiuri Shimbun in writing that the museum housed the capsule because the tower is 'one of the most important buildings of the 20th century.'
The 'many lives' in the exhibition's title allude not only to the refurbished capsules but to the people who once made their homes in the 140 single-room apartments of the retro-futuristic building in Tokyo's Ginza. Photos and videos show a range of interiors, from a simple minimalist bedroom to a tea ceremony room and a DJ booth.
'Each capsule — that is to say, each unit — is an expression of the idiosyncrasies of each individual,' wrote Kurokawa in 'Oh! The Code of the Cyborg.'
The architect had always imagined that his poster-child of metabolist architecture would transform and change. While Kurosawa once drew up plans for a twin building to Nakagin Capsule Tower that was never realized, the latest exhibition is an invitation to imagine both the structure's past lives and its future potential we have yet to experience.
'The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower' in New York's Museum of Modern Art runs through July 12, 2026. For more information, visit moma.org