Unfolding A Nakagin Story
Newspaper Poster for Yang Tian
To re-identify Japan's Modernity after the war, Kisho Kurokawa, the youngest Metabolism group member, imagines modern housing as individual cells. They move, digest, grow, and decay, informing a new society where people no longer live in a fixed space. Unfolding a Nakagin Story uses the newspaper as a medium to document and expand this Metabolism imagination, through unfolding to fabricate an urban story.
Download Press Kit № 162345
Download Press Kit № 162345 Newspaper Poster for Yang Tian by Yang Tian to access high-res images, essential texts, translations, and exclusive interviews—all in one.
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Unfolding a Nakagin Story by Yang Tian
Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.
Newspaper Poster by Yang Tian
Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.
Yang Tian Unfolding a Nakagin Story
Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.
Yang Tian Newspaper Poster
Download 1800 Pixels JPEG Image.
Unique Properties
To re-identify Japan’s Modernity after the war, Kisho Kurokawa, the youngest Metabolism group member, imagines modern housing as individual cells. They move, digest, grow, and decay, informing a new society where people no longer live in a fixed space. Unfolding a Nakagin Story uses the newspaper as a medium to document and expand this Metabolism imagination, through “unfolding” to fabricate an urban story.
Tags
Nakagin, Metabolism, Heritage, Housing, Urbanism
Production Technology
Graphics are done in Photoshop and Illustrator, the architecture is modeled in Rhino with a grasshopper plugin to change patterns and orientation.
Design Challenge
How can we capture the concept of Metabolism, where buildings can grow and shrink over time? How should I identify individual differences while the building comprises the same rectangular blocks? These are the two biggest challenges I need to solve. By using newspaper as the medium, one can feel the growth through unfolding the paper. One can also read individual stories despite repeating units by showing the interior information of selected blocks.
Project Duration
Duration: 3 months Location: Boston, MA, USA
Operation Flow
You could unfold it three times, each time, the capsule patterns, window colors, shapes, and orientation change within an oblique neutral grid, and 7 capsules have been highlighted to expose the interior activities of an individual with personal information next to it. Individual yet connected, neutral yet different for each capsule. You will experience the beauty of the Nakagin capsule tower after you unfold its stories!
Research
Focusing on post-war Japanese architecture, Metabolism was the most influential architectural movement from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. Kisha Kurokawa changed the Western design ideology of FORM (ETERNAL) based living style to TIME (CHANGING) based living space. The Nakagin Capsule Tower is an iconic architecture that not only embraces ephemeral but also changes a collective to an individual-oriented living style.
Inspiration
To embrace the idea of flexibility and updating, the newspaper is a great medium as a representation tool. Newspaper changes every day with new information and unfolding it to gain new information reinforces the idea of metabolism. By unfolding the project, each time, the capsule patterns, window colors, shapes, and orientation change within an oblique neutral grid.
Project Overview
Unfolding A Nakagin Story Newspaper Poster has been a Iron winner in the Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design award category in the year 2024 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
Image Credits
For design images and photos please credit Yang Tian.
Iron Recognition
Yang Tian was recognized with the coveted Iron A' Design Award in 2025, a testament to excellence of their work Unfolding A Nakagin Story Newspaper Poster.
Yang Tian Newsroom
Unlock a treasure trove of award-winning designs by accessing Yang Tian Newsroom.
