中銀カプセルタワーは、黒川紀章の最も象徴的なプロジェクトの一つであり、1960年代の日本で生まれた運動「メタボリズム」の数少ない実現例の一つでもあります。メタボリズムの提唱者たちは、生物学から影響を受けた者も含め、時間の経過に適応できる都市や建築を構想しました。黒川は、「代謝サイクル（metabolic cycles）」と呼ぶ考え方を通じて、成長・適応・変化が可能な建築を構想していました。中銀カプセルタワーの場合、建物のコア部分はそのまま維持され、カプセルは変化するニーズに応じて25〜35年ごとに交換される予定でした——しかし、その構想が実現することはありませんでした。その代わりに、50年の歳月の中でカプセルは残り続けたものの、その用途は大きく変化し、セカンドハウス、オフィス、学生寮として使われたり、さらには茶室、図書室、ギャラリー、DJブースなど、さまざまな形に転用されました。本展は、都市が老朽化する建物や急速な都市化にどのように向き合うべきかを再考する機会を来場者に提供するとともに、建築が設計者の想像を超えて新たな役割、機能、意味を担うことで、どのように存続しうるかを想像するよう促します。

本展には、MoMAの「One on One」シリーズの新刊『Kisho Kurokawa: Nakagin Capsule Tower』があわせて刊行され、エヴァンゲロス・コツィオリス（Evangelos Kotsioris）による豊富な図版を交えた解説文が収録されています。この書籍は、都市居住における前例のない試みである本プロジェクトの画期的な設計、建設、変遷、解体、そしてその遺産に深く踏み込み、これまで未公開だった資料や、最後の居住者たちによる複数の証言を収録しています。全48ページ、カラー図版45点収録。フラップ付きペーパーバック、価格は14.95ドル。ISBN：978-1-63345-173-5。発行元はニューヨーク近代美術館で、MoMAデザインストアにて購入可能です。米国およびカナダではARTBOOK | D.A.P.を通じて、その他の地域ではThames & Hudsonを通じて取引業者向けに流通しています。展覧会の開催期間中、ニューヨークのジャパン・ソサエティと連携して一連の公開イベントが実施されます。詳細はmoma.orgにて随時公開される予定です。

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MoMA to open an exhibition dedicated to the 50-year lifespan of the Nakagin Capsule Tower on July 10, 2025

The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower will showcase a fully restored capsule from MoMA’s collection

New York, May 8, 2025 — The Museum of Modern Art will present a focused exhibition dedicated to the 50-year lifespan of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, a groundbreaking project by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa (1934–2007) that was located in Tokyo’s Ginza District from 1972 until 2022. The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, on view from July 10, 2025, through July 12, 2026, in MoMA’s street-level galleries, will present capsule A1305 alongside nearly 45 pieces of contextual material that showcase the evolving and unexpected uses of the building. 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. Marketed as micro-dwellings for commuting businessmen, the building was composed of two interconnected concrete-and-steel towers that hosted 140 single-occupancy “capsules,” each fully equipped with prefabricated fixtures and a Sony color TV. Once located on the highest floor of the building, capsule A1305 is fully restored with the maximum number of original fittings salvaged from other rescued capsules, including the full array of audio electronics that were offered as add-on features. The capsule, one of only 14 restored in their original condition after the building was dismantled in 2022, was acquired by MoMA in 2023. MoMA members will have the opportunity to enter the capsule during a number of special activation events. The Many Lives of Nakagin Capsule Tower is organized by Evangelos Kotsioris, Assistant Curator, with Paula Vilaplana de Miguel, Curatorial Associate, Department of Architecture and Design.

The Nakagin Capsule Tower is one of Kurokawa’s most emblematic projects and one of the few realizations of Metabolism — a Japanese movement of the 1960s whose members, some influenced by biology, conceived cities and buildings that could adapt over time. Kurokawa envisioned architecture capable of growth, adaptation, and transformation through what he called “metabolic cycles.” In the case of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, the cores of the building were originally intended to remain intact while capsules would be replaced every 25 to 35 years in response to changing needs — yet that vision was never realized. Instead, over five decades, the capsules remained, but their functions changed dramatically as they were repurposed into second homes, offices, student rooms, or even tea rooms, libraries, galleries, and DJ booths, among other uses. This exhibition invites visitors to reconsider how cities confront aging buildings and rapid urbanization — and to imagine how architecture might endure by taking on new roles, functions, and meanings beyond what its designers ever imagined.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a new publication in the MoMA One on One series, Kisho Kurokawa: Nakagin Capsule Tower, featuring a richly illustrated text by Evangelos Kotsioris. The book delves into the groundbreaking design, construction, transformation, demolition, and legacy of this unprecedented experiment in urban living and includes previously unpublished material and multiple testimonies from some of the last residents of the building. 48 pages, 45 color illustrations. Paperback with flaps, $14.95. ISBN: 978-1-63345-173-5. Published by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and available at the MoMA Design Stores. Distributed to the trade through ARTBOOK | D.A.P. in the United States and Canada, and through Thames & Hudson in the rest of the world.

A series of public events will be organized with Japan Society in New York throughout the course of the exhibition. More information will be available on moma.org.