This was the rebirth of the Nakagin Capsule tower, which was rebuilt piece by piece

TOKYO — In 1972, Tokyo residents looked up to see something extraordinary. It looked like a place out of a science fiction movie—a futuristic tower made up of 140 detachable pods, each suited for an individual resident and with a window looking out, like a bunch of eyes on the city.

With its modular design and minimalist aesthetic, The 13-story Nakagin Capsule Tower was a marvel of 20th-century design intended to express a postwar Japanese theory of architecture as a living organism.

Metabolism, as explained by architect Kisho Kurokawa, who designed the tower, envisioned buildings with modular parts that could be attached and detached as needed.

“If you replace the capsules every 25 years, it could last 200 years,” Kurokawa said in 2007, the year he died. “I designed it as sustainable architecture”.

Each capsule measured 2.4 by 4 meters and was attached to one of two reinforced concrete towers. But over the years, many were abandoned and fell into disrepair, and residents decided to let the building die rather than save it.

After years of delays, The Nakagin Capsule Tower was decommissioned in 2022 and its 140 prefabricated capsules were removed one by one. Most were unsalvageable. However, 23 capsules managed to survive.

Now, after some renovations, these orphan capsules are embarking on a surprising second life, pollinating new architectural ideas throughout Japan and the world, where they are being converted into art spaces and museum pieces.

“Although we were unable to save the building, Kisho Kurokawa's original idea of ​​the capsules as interchangeable and mobile elements gave us the impetus to preserve them.said Tatsuyuki Maeda, 56, a former Nakagin resident and now director of the Nakagin Capsule Tower Building Conservation and Regeneration Project.

All 23 pods have been reborn—asbestos removed, repaired and repainted, and, in some cases, new fixtures installed.

One was acquired by the Wakayama Museum of Modern Art, which Kurokawa's studio designed in 1990. Kurokawa's own capsule is located in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Erected on the outskirts of the wealthy Ginza district, each capsule had enough space for a bed, a closet, a workstation, a bathroom and a porthole window.

Initially, the pods were aimed at busy professionals looking for a second home in the City center instead of a long commute.

Upon completion in 1972, all units were sold and the building received critical acclaim. But Second-generation owners who had inherited the pods weren't all that interested in using them, much less paying for replacements when the steel casings began to deteriorate. The capsules had to be removed for renewal, which was cost-prohibitive.

The renovated capsules are now attracting fans in Ginza, Tokyo's exclusive shopping and nightlife district. The Shochiku entertainment company, known for its Kabuki theater, has put two on permanent display.

At a recent gathering in his purpose-built gallery, Wakana Nitta, a musician who goes by the name Cosplay DJ Koe-chan, set up his turntables between the pods and began playing tunes from anime shows and sci-fi movies.

Nitta, a former resident now 44, meticulously documented the tower's dismantling.

At the recent event, his photographs of cranes removing capsules from the structure were displayed in a capsule dismantled to the frame; the other, renovated, showed images of his life in his own capsule, looking out the window at Tokyo.

TIM HORNYAK. THE NEW YORK TIMES