MoMA - The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower
Thu, Jul 10
|MoMA
Explore the rise, fall, and rebirth of Tokyo’s most radical building. The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower reveals how modular design shaped a future that still inspires.
Time & Location
Jul 10, 2025, 7:00 AM – Jul 12, 2026, 11:00 PM
MoMA, 11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019, USA
About the event
July 10, 2025 – July 12, 2026
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Visit MoMA.org
“This building is not an apartment house.”With those words, visionary architect Kisho Kurokawa introduced the Nakagin Capsule Tower, completed in 1972 in Tokyo’s Ginza district. This pioneering structure—composed of 140 prefabricated, single-occupancy units—stood as the boldest realization of Metabolism, a postwar Japanese architectural movement that envisioned buildings as living, adaptable organisms.
Initially designed as micro-apartments for urban businessmen, the tower’s capsules morphed over time into art studios, DJ booths, libraries, tea rooms, and more—demonstrating how architecture can evolve with its inhabitants. Though the tower was controversially demolished in 2022, its legacy endures.
At the core of the exhibition is capsule A1305, a fully restored unit from the top floor, on view alongside original architectural models, archival drawings, photographs, ephemera, and interviews with former residents. These elements illuminate how a modular prototype became a symbol of techno-futurism,…