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Kisho Kurokawa, the Japanese architect who pioneered the Metabolism movement, has died of heart failure aged 73.

According to BDonline: "Kurokawa was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1934. He graduated from Kyoto University before co-founding the Metabolists in 1960 at the age of 26. Described as a kind and compassionate man, his philosophy was based around the idea of a paradigm shift from what he termed the “age of machine principle” to the “age of life principle”.

He defined the latter as being influenced by concepts including symbiosis, recycling, ecology and intermediate space. In 1972, he built the iconic Nakagin Capsule Tower. The scheme, considered the first capsule building designed for actual use, and using offsite manufacture technologies, inspired later proposals by architects including Piercy Connor. Despite being placed on international heritage protection group Docomomo’s short list for modern world heritage buildings in 1997, the development failed to win protection and currently faces the threat of demolition, after being found to contain asbestos. Other well know work included the Wakayama Museum of Modern Art and the Hiroshima Contemporary Art Museum."

Do you think he was buried in a capsule pod?