KUROKAWA Kisho (1934-2007) was a leading Japanese architect and one of the founders of the Metabolist Movement in the 1960s. He studied architecture at Kyoto University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1957. He then attended the graduate school of Tokyo University and studied under TANGE Kenzo.
Responding to the modernist architectural philosophy of Le Corbusier, who had tried to make the house “a machine for living”, Kurokawa, as a Metabolist, predicted “a shift from the age of machines to the age of life”.
Among the most notable Metabolist projects he realized was the Nakagin Capsule Tower (1972) in Tokyo’s Ginza district, in which the apartments were replaceable capsules. The 14-story high Tower has 140 prefabricated concrete modules stacked at angles around a central core, completed with the minimum necessities such as a built-in bed, bathroom unit, and even a TV set (now very old-fashioned). In 1977 he designed the Capsule Inn Osaka, considered the first pod hotel.
For four decades, he created eco-friendly and sustainable architectural projects. His Kuala Lumpur international airport, completed in 1998, gained international acclaim, particularly for his concept of Airport in the Forest and Forest in the Airport. This project awarded him the Dedalo-Minosse International Prize in 2003.
He died of heart failure in 2007. His last words to his actress wife was: I truly loved you.
Responding to the modernist architectural philosophy of Le Corbusier, who had tried to make the house “a machine for living”, Kurokawa, as a Metabolist, predicted “a shift from the age of machines to the age of life”.
Among the most notable Metabolist projects he realized was the Nakagin Capsule Tower (1972) in Tokyo’s Ginza district, in which the apartments were replaceable capsules. The 14-story high Tower has 140 prefabricated concrete modules stacked at angles around a central core, completed with the minimum necessities such as a built-in bed, bathroom unit, and even a TV set (now very old-fashioned). In 1977 he designed the Capsule Inn Osaka, considered the first pod hotel.
For four decades, he created eco-friendly and sustainable architectural projects. His Kuala Lumpur international airport, completed in 1998, gained international acclaim, particularly for his concept of Airport in the Forest and Forest in the Airport. This project awarded him the Dedalo-Minosse International Prize in 2003.
He died of heart failure in 2007. His last words to his actress wife was: I truly loved you.