Metabolist Architecture

メタボリズム建築 / 1960s–1970s / Style / Modern Architecture

Conceives city and building as one vast system that can grow, exchange and renew itself like an organism.

Metabolist Architecture — Nakagin Capsule Tower (CC BY-SA 3.0) · © Jordy Meow
Nakagin Capsule Tower (CC BY-SA 3.0) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · © Jordy Meow
Metabolist Architecture — Capsules of the Nakagin Capsule Tower (CC BY-SA 4.0) · © Dllu
Capsules of the Nakagin Capsule Tower (CC BY-SA 4.0) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Dllu
Metabolist Architecture — Kenzo Tange Shizuoka Press and Broadcasting Center (CC BY 3.0) · © wikipedia: Jonathan Savoie
Kenzo Tange Shizuoka Press and Broadcasting Center (CC BY 3.0) · CC BY 3.0 · © wikipedia: Jonathan Savoie

At a glance

Visual cues

  • Exchangeable capsules
  • Megastructures
  • Growing cities
  • Organic networks

Best used for

  • Research buildings and housing where services and rooms are designed to different lifespans.
  • Phased urban proposals that must show the order in which growth happens.

Use this style

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Dictionary entry

Type
Number the joints on drawings so each exchangeable unit has a name.
Composition
Hang repeated removable units off a core that never moves.
Material
Factory made precast and room pods joined by visible metal connections.
Caution
Quoting the capsule shape without deciding how and at what cost units are swapped leaves the imagery and no renewal. Grasp the system thinking that answered population growth and urban renewal.
Further study
Kenzō Tange / Kisho Kurokawa / Fumihiko Maki

Related entries

Often confused with

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Continue through styles in the same Modern Architecture family, prioritised by shared effects.

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Cite this entry

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https://indexstyle.org/styles/metabolist-architecture
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[Metabolist Architecture — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/metabolist-architecture)
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