The Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo's Ginza district was designed by Kisho Kurokawa, with Gengo Matsui as structural engineer, for Nakagin, the real estate company of Torizo Watanabe, which commissioned it after seeing Kurokawa's Expo '70 Beautilion. It was built from 1970 to 1972 and is described as the world's first capsule architecture, a Metabolist work for mixed residential and office use.
Reinforced concrete and steel-frame cores carried welded steel-truss capsules clad in galvanized steel, each 8.2 by 8.2 by 13.1 feet (2.5 by 2.5 by 4.0 m), 140 in all. Each was bolted to the tower with four high-tension bolts so it could be replaced. Bridge decks linked the towers, and the fireproofing contained asbestos.
Demolition was approved in 2007 and began on April 12, 2022. Twenty-three capsules were preserved. The infobox lists 13 floors, while the text describes towers of 11 and 13 floors.
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