Capsule from Japan’s iconic tower to turn into moving pied-à-terre

By Maria Roldan

Tokyo, Oct 16 (EFE).- When architect Akiko Ishimaru realized that the iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo had its days numbered, she embarked on revamping one of the capsules to relocate it and turn it into a caravan that travels across the country as a moving pied-à-terre.

The capsule A606 is currently the only one that will survive the demolition of the building, scheduled to commence in March 2022 after years of campaigns to preserve and renovate it.

Ishimaru, 43, lived in one of the capsules of the iconic building for a year in 2013.

She told EFE how she arrived there, pushed by her desire to live in an architectural marvel, designed by Kisho Kurokawa (1934-2007), representing the Japanese Metabolist movement of the 1960s.

Architect Kurokawa was one of the promoters of the Metabolist movement, with the vision of a modern world in which buildings would constantly change and adapt to human needs, as against the traditional architecture of fixed spaces.

Ishimaru learned that many of the 10-square-meter capsules had over time lost their original condition from when constructed in 1972.

In 2017, she decided to rent and restore Capsule A606.

She used it as shared office space and brought life to its cathode-ray tube television and other obscure appliances.

The original idea for Capsule A606 was to remain in the building for further use.