The Cultural Legacy of Metabolism: From Local to Global Open Access

Abstract

The Metabolism movement presents a paradox in modern Japanese architectural history. During the World Design Conference in Tokyo in 1960, the five core Metabolist architects published their individual theory of new Japanese cities in the manifesto, Metabolism 1960: The Proposals for New Urbanism. The Metabolists had reservations about the rigid plans of functional cities proposed by International Congresses of Modern Architecture (CIAM) and the universalizing force of International Style that did not seem to take into account the cultural and geographical particularities of different regions. Although each Metabolist had distinct opinions about the visual and spatial features of new urbanism, as a group the Metabolists were interested in buildings and cities that could adapt to rapid social and environmental changes through structural flexibility and renewability, looking to Japan’s cultural traditions for theoretical precedent.   

Despite Metabolist theories’ specificity of site – that is, the local Japanese context – the most prominent Metabolist urban design projects were constructed overseas from the 1970s onwards. This paper examines the paradoxical nature of Metabolism’s cultural legacy negotiated in four architectural projects from 1960 to the 2000s, both inside and outside of Japan. Metabolism’s legacy, as demonstrated by those four projects, is characterized not by the movement’s initial fixation with its Japanese origin, but rather by its theories’ adaptability to the rapidly changing global environment.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction …………………………….……………………………….…………………………..1 

2. Scholarly Literature on Metabolism ………..……………….……………………………….. 3

3. THE LOCAL …………………………….…………………………….………..…………………… 5

Before Metabolism ..…….…………………………….……………………………………............ 6

The Manifesto: Metabolism 1960 ……………….…………...………………………............... 9

Kikutake’s Marine City (1959) ………………………………………………………….............. 20

Kurokawa’s Nakagin Capsule Tower (1972) ……………………………………................… 25

4. THE GLOBAL …………………………….…………………………….………….………………. 29

Metabolism Globalized ………….…………………………….……………………..……........... 30

Maki’s Republic Polytechnic in Singapore (2007) …………………..…………................. 32

Kurokawa’s Zhengdong New District Plan in China (2004-) …….………..................… 39

5. Conclusion: Metabolist Legacy in the New Age ………………………………….………. 46

Appendix …………………………….…………………………….………….…………………….... 62

Bibliography ...………………………….……………………………………………….………….... 71

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Art History
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Art History Asian Studies Architecture
Keyword	Kisho Kurokawa Masato Ohtaka Kiyonori Kikutake Maki Fumihiko Metabolism Noboru Kawazoe
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Crawford, Christina, Emory University
Committee Members	Bullock, Julia, Emory University Lee, Lisa, Emory University

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