Demolition of the iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower Building in Tokyo has finally begun.
Stacked 144 collective cuboids tower was very unique not only its design but also its concept: metabolism. The architect Kurokawa Kisho designed this building with these replaceable cuboids in order to be resilient to threats such as disasters and wars.

A round window on the cuboid looked like a cell. Each module was very compact and simply designed but equipped with cool retro futuristic built-in audio system such as phone, reel tape recorder, TV and speakers and it reminds me the Dr. Evil’s operation room from Austion Powers. 

From this concept, a damaged module could be replaced to the new one and this system allowed the tower to exist forever. In fact, the tower was smeared with asbestos and serious damages hardly to renovate it.
When I saw this tower for the first time, I felt it like a living creature. Off course the architecture is inorganic, I strongly feel it is still alive and soon to die. After its death, the next new building will come up. It seems a bit ironic but it is the metabolism and metempsychosis in Japan. 

Titanium origami  (from our audio catalogue)