Nakagin Capsule Tower, Tokyo Photo: Dreamstime

The first capsule architecture design, Nakagin was built to house travelling businessmen. Designed by Kisho & Kurokawa Architect & Associates, and built in 1972, each 4 x 2.5m unit can be connected to the main core, or replaced if necessary. The design is based on the 1960s ‘Metabolism’ idea of cities as ‘moving’. But the structure has been somewhat neglected and badly maintained over the past 30 years