Metabolism in architecture
Metabolism was a form of radical architecture that developed in Japan during the 1960s.
Presented with the opportunities of post-war rebuilding as a result of the devastation caused by the 1945 atomic bombs, designers and architects began to put into practice alternative theories and ideas for how cities should be designed.
Metabolism represented an urban environment that was responsive, replaceable and could grow in an organic way. It largely followed the ‘megastructure’ form that was gaining in popularity with architects and planners at the time, as a means of addressing the growing populations of urban areas and the rapidly-changing lifestyles of the post-war era. The principles of the megastructure were that it had to be modular, capable of extension and have a framework into which smaller elements could be ‘plugged’ or replaced.
The Japanese Metabolists were particularly inspired by University of East Anglia’s ‘Ziggurats’, as well as by Moshe Safdie’s Habitat 67 in Montreal. Although many projects failed to get off the ground, texamples of the Metabolist form include the battleship-esque New Sky Building in Shinjuku (see image above) and the Nakagin Capsule Tower, Tokyo by Kisho Kurokawa.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Architectural styles.
- Art Moderne.
- Blobitecture.
- Brutalism.
- Buckminster Fuller.
- Constructivist architecture.
- Deconstructivism.
- Frei Otto.
- Fuji TV Building, Tokyo.
- Geodesic dome.
- Habitat 67.
- High-tech architecture.
- Last Futures: Nature, Technology and the End of Architecture.
- Lloyds of London.
- Megastructure.
- Nakagin Capsule Tower.
- Neo-futurism.
- Norfolk Terrace and Suffolk Terrace - ‘the Ziggurats’.
- Robot Building, Bangkok.
- The Japanese House: Architecture and Life after 1945.
- Unusual building design of the week.
- Urban design.
[edit] External references
- ‘Last Futures: Nature, Technology and the End of Architecture’, MURPHY D., Verso Books (2015).
Featured articles and news
What they are, how they work and why they are popular in many countries.
Plastic, recycling and its symbol
Student competition winning, M.C.Esher inspired Möbius strip design symbolising continuity within a finite entity.
Do you take the lead in a circular construction economy?
Help us develop and expand this wiki as a resource for academia and industry alike.
Warm Homes Plan Workforce Taskforce
Risks of undermining UK’s energy transition due to lack of electrotechnical industry representation, says ECA.
Cost Optimal Domestic Electrification CODE
Modelling retrofits only on costs that directly impact the consumer: upfront cost of equipment, energy costs and maintenance costs.
The Warm Homes Plan details released
What's new and what is not, with industry reactions.
Could AI and VR cause an increase the value of heritage?
The Orange book: 2026 Amendment 4 to BS 7671:2018
ECA welcomes IET and BSI content sign off.
How neural technologies could transform the design future
Enhancing legacy parametric engines, offering novel ways to explore solutions and generate geometry.
Key AI related terms to be aware of
With explanations from the UK government and other bodies.
From QS to further education teacher
Applying real world skills with the next generation.
A guide on how children can use LEGO to mirror real engineering processes.
Data infrastructure for next-generation materials science
Research Data Express to automate data processing and create AI-ready datasets for materials research.
Wired for the Future with ECA; powering skills and progress
ECA South Wales Business Day 2025, a day to remember.
AI for the conservation professional
A level of sophistication previously reserved for science fiction.
Biomass harvested in cycles of less than ten years.
An interview with the new CIAT President
Usman Yaqub BSc (Hons) PCIAT MFPWS.
Cost benefit model report of building safety regime in Wales
Proposed policy option costs for design and construction stage of the new building safety regime in Wales.
Do you receive our free biweekly newsletter?
If not you can sign up to receive it in your mailbox here.