A different way to build a house #32 – Capsule Apartments

In the heart of Tokyo there is a housing project that is unique. It is called the Nakagin Capsule Tower, and can be located in this aerial photo:

As described in the following interview with the designer, each of the prefab cubes is its own single-room house. They were intended to be replaceable:

Built in 1972, the tower had been threatened with demolition:

Future Vision Banished to the Past

Here is how it described the cubes on the inside:

Inside, each apartment is as compact as a space capsule. A wall of appliances and cabinets is built into one side, including a kitchen stove, a refrigerator, a television and a tape deck. A bathroom unit, about the size of an airplane lavatory, is set into an opposite corner. A big porthole window dominates the far end of the room, with a bed tucked underneath.

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