Metabolizing New Zealand: 50 Years Since Nakagin

The first influential architectural manifesto from Japan to the world was ‘Metabolism 1960: Proposals for a New Urbanism’, revealed at Tokyo’s World Design Conference, Expo 60’. 2022 marks the 50th anniversary and deconstruction of Nakagin Capsule Tower, the quintessence of Metabolism. As the tower metabolizes again, could a new metabolism emerge- across the Pacific Rim?

This thesis involves implementing provisional¹ residential architecture through the lens of Metabolist ideologies in the search for new notions of vernacular identity throughout New Zealand. Using New Zealand itself as the subsistence system (natural and urban environments) in which the development of processes begins and informs the development of products². The ambition of this thesis is to demonstrate a ‘New Zealand Metabolism’- found through identified Metabolist, vernacular and modular ideals combined to optimize designs for social housing. The analysis considers historical identity, housing limitations and urban lifecycles to inform design materials, forms, typologies and configurations. Exploring interplay between digital and physical modeling alongside critical reflection is used to determine the success of vernacular identity exhibition.

A culture shift must be identified, griped and formed in the same way Kenzo Tange did with Metabolism in Japan. Metabolism is the ideological grounding of the work, re-evaluated within a contemporary context- addressing the lack of flexibility and identity that generic residential typologies offer within New Zealand. The housing crisis is the practical issue which the work grapples with- identifying potential areas/ groups of interest including housing complexes, urban areas or unorthodox locations such as infill homes. Construction systems and techniques are the realization of the work. Modular design and prefabrication could produce comprehensive transferable building systems, which acknowledge the transient duration of materials. These systems can be assessed under Housing Density Guidelines to reveals the strengths and capabilities of these ‘experimental’ systems.