MoMA displays "faithful restoration" of original Nakagin capsule

Following the dismantling of the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Japan, MoMA has displayed a fully restored capsule for a New York exhibition, complete with ephemera such as original drawings and documents of tenants' lives.

The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower presents Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa's Capsule Tower as a "cycle" according to MoMA curators Evangelos Kotsioris and Paula Vilaplana de Miguel, who focused on the building's entire life span from its completion in 1972 and its dismantling in 2022 for the exhibition.

Hosted in MoMA's ground-floor galleries, the exhibition is split into two sections, delineated by bright orange and pink shades.

One is dedicated to the completion and marketing of the building in the early 1970s, and the other is focused on the 50 years after, as the tenants slowly transformed each capsule into highly individualised cubes. The structure was considered an example of Japanese metabolist architecture.

A fully restored A1305 capsule sits at the centre. Restored by Kisho Kurokawa's Japan office over six months, it was then shipped to New York City by boat, where it will remain in MoMA's permanent collection.

"It's a very rare opportunity where we get to show visitors on a one-to-one scale, a piece of architecture, rather than just showing drawings or photographs or videos," Kotsioris told Dezeen.

"They meticulously restored the interior, found the right carpet as it was originally specified – it's a very faithful restoration. All the cabinetry is original, the bathroom, all the fixtures, everything. Which is very rare, and the MoMA capsule even has the electronics and appliances."

According to the curators, out of 140 capsules, 14 were preserved and restored to their original state, with most shipped away to other global institutions.

On the exterior, the capsule bears the subtle remnants of four high-tension bolts that were used to affix it to the core of the tower.

"It was like a corn cob, basically," said Kotsioris. "It was a huge cantilever – everywhere."

Elsewhere in the exhibit, recent photos and videos document the interior of the various capsules and their tenants, who organised much of the documentation themselves as they fought to preserve the building, according to the curators.

Along with initial marketing materials and videos intended for salarymen, Kotsioris and Vilaplana de Miguel sought to encourage questions around domestic space the building design initially wrestled with.

"It's this kind of miniature domestic space that people can have strong feelings about," said Kotsioris. "There is a process where it [was] converted into a real object in the world, but also it has 50 years of life after that."

"It's one of the most important projects of architectural design of the 20th century, we believe in many ways, and it had such a radiating effect within the architectural community. It connects people and inspires curiosity and asks questions about how we should live in a city like New York."

The Nakagin Capsule Tower was dismantled in 2022 due to the dilapidation of its structure. Tenants decided to sell their homes and divvy up the capsules after failing to find a buyer to fund the tower's preservation.

In late 2024, it was announced that a luxury hotel would be built on its original site.

The exhibition photography is by Jonathan Dorado, courtesy of MoMA.

Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower is on show from 10 July 2025 to 12 July 2026. For more exhibitions, events and talks in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.

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