Nakagin Capsule Tower

Kisho Kurokawa, Tokyo, Japan, 1972

Scale: 1:100
Materials: aluminium, giluform, mdf, pla
Type: structural
Detail: 5/7
Student: Wanja Korner, HS24

A 1:100 study model of Kisho Kurokawa's Nakagin Capsule Tower, comprising an MDF shaft-core rising from a dark MDF base, clad with individually cast plaster capsule units whose circular porthole depressions are clearly modeled on each face. The staggered, plug-in arrangement of capsules around the core — the defining Metabolist idea of the building — is the primary focus of the model, with a small-scale figure placed at the base for scalar reference. The upper portion of the MDF core extends above the capsule zone and bears the building's kanji signage.

How it's made — RAPLAB

Casting Workshop ↗
Plaster — tutorial ↗
Laser cutter — tutorial ↗
PDF export for laser cutting — tutorial ↗
Digital Workshop ↗
3D printing — tutorial ↗