Osaka World Exposition 1970 - Takara beautilion

On the occasion of the the Osaka exposition in 1970, Japanese philosopher and architect, Kisho Kurokawa, designed a prototype for a new type of modular living structure. This construction was baptised Takara Beautilion, a tubular framework that wouldn’t look out of place on the set of Space 1999. It could easily be assembled, dismantled or expanded, and various living capsules sat in the spaces within this structure.

It was dismantled after 6 months’ service, but became the inspiration for Kurokawa’s Nakagin Capsule Tower, another plug-in housing structure, built a couple of years later in Tokyo and still standing today. (more info on this construction site)