TITLE

: NAKAGIN CAPSULE TOWER

ACTORS

: EDORA, HASINA, FAIS AND ZAMREE

EDORA
CLASS?

: FAIS, DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT WE HAVE LEARNT IN HISTORY

FAIS

: ERMMM.SOMETHING ABOUT JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE MOVEMENT?

SINA

: HA! I REMEMBER! IT IS A MOVEMENT STYLE CALLED METABOLISM.

ZAMREE

: IS IT THE ONE WITH KISHO KUROKAWA AND KENZO TANGE?

FAIS

: WHO?

SINA

: ISH FAIS! YOURE OBVIOUSLY NOT PAYING ATTENTION IN CLASS.

EDORA

: WAIT? WHEN WAS THIS METABOLISM STARTED?

ZAMREE

: IF IM NOT MISTAKEN, THIS METABOLISM STARTED AROUND 1960 th IN

POST-WAR JAPAN.

SINA

: WHAT IS ACTUALLY MEANT BY METABOLISM?

EDORA
AND DECAY

: HMMMI REMEMBER SOMETHING ABOUT GROWTH, CHANGE

FAIS

: WHAT DO YOU MEAN, DORA?

EDORA

: I THINK METABOLIST ARCHITECTS BELIEVED THAT CITIES AND

BUILDING ARE NOT STATIC BUT ARE EVERCHANGING.

ZAMREE

: WHO IS THE ARCHITECT BEHIND ALL OF THIS?

SINA
STYLE.

: CHORITS KISHO KUROKAWA.THE FOUNDER OF METABOLISM

EDORA

: WHAT DID THIS GUY DO?

FAIS

: HUH..DORA! KISHO KUROKAWA HAD WON A LOT OF AWARDS

ZAMREE

: OKOKSO HE IS QUITE ESTABLISHED.I THINK I HAVE READ ABOUT

HIS FAMOUS DESIGN IN JAPAN

SINA

: DO YOU MEANT THE NAKAGIN CAPSULE TOWER?

EDORA

: OH! OH! OH! THE BUILDING MADE OF CAPSULES?

FAIS

: WHAT CAPSULES? SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING FROM OUTERSPACES

ZAMREE

: WHAT ARE YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT?

SINA

: ITS NOT FROM OUTERSPACE, FAIS.ITS ACTUALLY A BUILDING MADE

OF 140 CAPSULES WHICH ATTACH TO 2 CONCRETE TOWERS.

FAIS, ZAMREE

: ORWHHHHH.

EDORA
RIGHT?

: IF IM NOT MISTAKEN, THIS CAPSULES CAN BE REPLACED

ZAMREE

: YES, DORA.I THINK YOURE RIGHT.BUT UNFORTUNATELY NO UNITS

HAVE BEEN REPLACED SINCE THE ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION

FAIS

: THAT SOUNDS LIKE A LONG TIME AGO..WHEN WAS IT?

SINA

: ERMMM.IT WAS COMPLETED AROUND 1972 IN TOKYO

FAIS

: SOUNDS INTERESTING, BUT I STILL DONT GET IT???

EDORA

: WHAT DONT YOU GET, FAIS..!!!

FAIS

: WHAT IS THIS BUILDING FOR?

EDORA

: ERGH!! IT WAS ACTUALLY BUILT FOR BACHELOR SALARY MAN WHO

WORK IN TOKYO.BUTLIVE OUTSIDE THE CITY

FAIS

: ORWHHSO ITS LIKE A TEMPORARY LIVING SPACE

SINA

: WAIT A MINUTE.JUST NOW YOU SAID THAT NO UNITS HAVE BEEN

REPLACED? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?

ZAMREE

: ACTUALLY.ITS SUPPOSED TO BE REPLACED EVERY 25 YEARS. BUT

IT WAS NEVER DONE

FAIS

: REALLY!!?? BUT WHY!!??

EDORA

: SOME OF THE CAPSULES OWNER OWN THE CAPSULE BY

INHERITANVETHEIR FATHER MAY HAVE LOVE LIVING IN IT.
BUT.THEYRE NOT REALLY INTERESTED ABOUT THE CAPSULES.

SINA

: ORWH.THAT SO SAD.

ZAMREE
: IM STILL PUZZLED ABOUT HOW THE CAPSULE SHOULD BE
REPLACED..
FAIS

: HURMMM..I KNOW! THE CAPSULE IS PLUGGED IN INDEPENDNTLY

AND CANTILEVERED SO THAT CAPSULE MAY BE REMOVED EASILY
WITHOUT AFFECTING THE OTHERS.

EDORA, SINA: WOW FAIS!!!

EDORA

: YOU DO KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THIS TOWER!!!

FAIS

: HEHEHEH..WELLL.I WAS AWAKE DURING THAT TIME

ZAMREE

: BUT HOW DO YOU FIT A LIVING SPACE INTO A CAPSULE?

SINA
: IN MY CALCULATION, EACH CAPSULE IN ONLY ABOUT 8.74m2 FOR
ALIVING SPACE.
ZAMREE

: HOW CAN PEOPLE LIVING THERE? ARE THEY DWARFS???

EDORA

: OF COURSE ITS POSSIBLEJAPANESE ARCHITECTS ARE KNOWN FOR

THEIR SPACE EFFICIENT DESIGN.

SINA

: THEY CAN MINIMIZED A LOT OF SPACE WITH THEIR COMPACT DESIGN

FAIS

: THAT IS TRUE!!! THE CAPSULE MAY SEEM SMALLBUT ACTUALLY IT

CAN FIT A BED, A KITCHEN STOVE, REFRIGERATOR, TELEVISION,
CABINETS AND A SMALL BATHROOM UNIT.

ZAMREE
THERE

: WOW.I CANT IMAGINE HOW PEOPLE CAN LIVE COMFORTLY IN

SINA

: THATS WHY ITS A TEMPORARY LIVING SPACE

EDORA
SOMEDAY

: WOW.IT WOULD BE NICE IF WE COULD VISIT THIS PLACE

FAIS
: I HEARD THAT JAPANESE ARE CONSIDERING TO DEMOLISH THIS
BUILDING
SINA, EDORA, ZAMREE: WHAT!!!!WHAT!!!!??
FAIS

: ACTUALLY, THERE IS A STORY BEHIND THIS BUILDINGTHE NAKAGIN

COMPANY WENT BANKRUPT

ZAMREE

: IS IT BECAUSE OF THE AMERICAN HEDGE FUND WHO WANTS TO

DEMOLISH THE BUILDING AND BUILT A NEW, BIGGER AND MORE
MODERN BUILDING, SO THEY CAN GAIN PROFIT

SINA

: OMGGGG!!! SO.ITS ALL ABOUT MONEY..!

ZAMREE

: IS THERE ANYONE WHO WANT TO PRESERVE THE BUILDING?

FAIS

: YES.MOST ARCHITECTURE ASSOCIATION IN JAPAN VOTE TO

PRESERVE THE BUILDING.BUT UNFORTUNATELY IN 2007, 80% OF THE
CAPSULES OWNER APPROVED DEMOLITION..

SINA

: ACCORDING TO KISHO KUROKAWA, IF THEY DEMOLISHED THE WHOLE

BUILDING, IT WILL COST 27 MILLION YEN

EDORA

: WOW!!! ITS SO EXPENSIVE!

SINA
: BUT.IF THEY REPLACED THE CAPSULE.IT WILL ONLY COST 7.8
MILLION YEN..
EDORA

: ORWHH.THATS SO MUCH BETTER IDEA

ZAMREE

: BUTUNFORTUNATELY KISHO KUROKAWA PASSED AWAY BEFORE HE

COULD BUY BACK HIS OWNERSHIP OF THE BUILDING

FAIS

: SOWHAT HAPPEN TO THE BUILDING??

ZAMREE
FOUND.

: NOW, A DEVELOPER FOR THE REPLACEMENT HAS YET TO BE

EDORA

: SO.THE FATE OF THE BUILDING IS STILL UNKNOWN.

SINA

: WOW! I NEVER KNEW ABOUT ALL OF THIS BEFORE

FAIS

: I REALLY HOPE THAT SOMEDAY I GET TO VISIT THE BUILDING

ZAMREE EDORA: ME TOO!!

AND SINA
EDORA
: SO GUYSOUR NEXT TRIP FOR THIS SEMESTER
BREAK????.....IS JAPANNNN!!???
ALL

: YEAYYYYYY!!!!!

THE
END

(HAVE A NICE TRIP AN JAPAN )