Metabolism: Japan’s Living Cities
What if buildings could grow?
Japan tried to find out.
Encounter the movement that imagined cities as living organisms — capsules, megastructures and wild optimism — and see what its dreams teach us about tomorrow.
Japan’s living cities will stretch your idea of growth.
- Imagine living cities — understand buildings designed to grow, adapt and renew themselves
- Know the capsules — grasp the famous experiments in plug-in, replaceable living
- Meet the dreamers — follow the young architects who rebuilt postwar ambition
- Weigh the outcomes — see honestly what worked, what failed and what remains
- Connect to now — link these visions to modular and adaptable design today
- Expand your imagination — let radical thinking stretch what you believe cities can be
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Metabolism was one exam flashcard about capsule towers. The course connected it to postwar Japan, megastructure theory and questions about growth that cities are asking again right now. It went from historical curiosity to the movement I cite most in my urban design discussions.
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Short, focused video lessons — each one a single idea, clearly explained.
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End every lesson with a small task that pushes your real project forward.
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Answered simply.
I've never heard of Metabolism — is it too obscure to matter?
It's the most ambitious rethink of cities the modern era produced, and its ideas about growth, plug-in units and impermanence are resurfacing in modular design now.
Is this only about Japan?
Japan is the stage, but the questions — can buildings adapt, should cities be permanent — are universal and increasingly urgent.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Every course starts from where you are and builds up step by step, in plain language.
Is this software training?
No — software changes yearly. The thinking you learn here lasts a career.
How does it work?
Short video lessons with a small practice task after each. Any device, your pace.
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Your next project could be the one that feels truly yours.
- 5 Sections
- 25 Lessons
- 4 Hours
- 1. The World That Made It5
- 2. What They Built5
- 3. How They Built It5
- 4. The Language5
- 5. What Survived and What It Changed5
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Metabolism was one exam flashcard about capsule towers. The course connected it to postwar Japan, megastructure theory and questions about growth that cities are asking again right now. It went from historical curiosity to the movement I cite most in my urban design discussions.
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