METABOLISM

SHRADDHA KHARODE -43

SIMRAN KOSHTE -46
AVANTEE PORE -69
POOJA TIWARI -81
 Metabolism is a legendary movement in architecture that occurred in the
1960s in Tokyo. Previously, Metabolism was known as an artistic movement
in architecture by a group of radical architects who came out with
impressive visionary drawings of the city of the future; why they made such
drawings and what they really were was overshadowed by the strength of
these images and other materials like photographs of the Nakagin Capsule
Tower, or of Expo 1970 in Osaka. The Expo pavilions, which the Metabolists
designed as prototypes for living systems for the future, contributed to the
exaltation of futuristic fantasies among the national public, just like the
bullet train that appeared in 1964.
 KEY IDEAS AND PHILOSOPHIES OF
MOVEMENT-
STRONG METAPHORICAL RELATIONSHIP

DEVELOPMENT OF METABOLISM OF HUMAN

ARCHITECTURE BODY
This relationship represented the foundation on which the Metabolists based
their new theory.

METABOLISM- Metabolism can be defined as the sum of the physical and chemical changes and
processes that take place in the human body in order to break down the food, generate energy
and create complex molecules for human’s cell growth.

PHILOSOPHY- This cell growth would help the human body to function normally, grow healthy
and sustain itself. Metaphorically, Metabolists believed that contemporary architecture should
be changeable to meet the rapidly changing requirements, as well as reflect the human
dynamic reality. However, similar to the changes that take place in the human body, buildings
should be mechanized in almost a biological way in order to continue in the present and be
adapted to the rapidly growing and developed technology in the future.
FIRST APPEARED IN TOKYO WORLD CONFERRENCE OF
DESIGN
TIME PERIOD DURING WHICH THE MOVEMENT TOOK PLACE – 1960

MAIN CONTRIBUTERS TO THIS MOVEMENT ARE – KENZO TANGE ,KIYONORI KIKUTAKE

,KISHO KUROKAWA, AND FUMIHIKO MAKI.

METABOLISTS BELIEVED THAT ADOPTING THIS APPROACH IN ARCHITECTURE WOULD

SAVE THE IDENTITY OF HUMANBEINGS AND ALLOW THEM TO COMMUNICATE
THEIR HUMANITY TO ARCHITECTURE
NUMBER OF FEATURES THAT
CHARACTERIZE THE MOVEMENT-
 1. Large scale structures capable of growing organically in different
direction (vertically and horizontally).
 2. The design of the buildings do not follow the modernists’ views of ‘Form
follows Function’, but allow the spaces and forms to be adapted to
changeable function in the future.
 3. Adaptable plug-in mega-structures, which express the progress in
building technology.
 WHY THIS NAME

The movement took that name because, distancing away from

modernism, arguing that buildings and cities should be
conceived as living beings, and therefore should grow
organically, according to the needs of their inhabitants.
WHY DID THE MOVEMENT TAKE ITS
ROOT
In the 1960, many cities around the world witnessed an unprecedented
economic growth and urban expansion, which created unusual pressure
on architects to find appropriate solutions to the problem of
overpopulation. Architects and urban planners were looking for creating
mega-structures and utopian solutions than could accommodate the
needs of the housing sector. In the early 1960, a group of young
Japanese architects were occupied by the idea of creating a new
structural system, where parts of the building can be added or removed
according to the continual changing needs of the people. These
architects succeeded in initiating a new movement in architecture called
‘Metabolism’.
WHY

The majority of the Metabolists’ work was residential and

directed to solve housing problems. Their designs covered
issues of architecture, regional planning, as well as
industrial.
HISTORICAL MOVEMENTS WHICH
INFLUENCED THE MOVEMENT-
 The most expressive project of metabolists’ work is the
Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo (1972), designed by
the renowned Kisho Kurokawa. The building consists of
13 floors and contains about 140 individual flats, each
in a pre-formed capsule. The main concept of the
project was to allow the capsule unites to be plugged
into or removed from the main structure, so the form of
the building is a changeable. The capsules are
prefabricated and equipped with the necessary
services including furniture. The capsules are left and
adjusted around the main core of the building to
create irregular form, which evolve according to the
needs of the people.
Another important project is the Yamanashi Press and
Radio Center in Kofu, designed by Kenzo Tange
in1961-67. This building represents a significant example
of the Metabolism movement. The building featured
solid service towers (elevators and staircases), around
which horizontal slabs are adjusted, clipped on or
removed in order to satisfy the changing conditions of the
people. Of course this building is an expression of the
high technology in building industry
ENVIRONMENTAL SPACE

Besides the architecture and

urbanism, art was deeply involved
in Metabolism, primarily through
two events: the exhibition
"Environmental Space", 1966, and
mainly the Osaka Expo in 1970
(whose urban planning was also
designed by Tange). This was a
chance for artists like Katsuhiro
Yamaguchi and Kiyoshi Awazu to
develop creations based on the
principles of Metabolism
references

 Global history of architecture

 Chinese architecture
 Modern architecture