Origin: Japan, the 1960s.
Metabolism was a Japanese architecture movement of the 1960s that treated buildings and cities as living organisms able to change, grow and replace parts. Its key idea is a durable structural core with attachable, replaceable modules, producing bold forms of boxes, cylinders and towers. Kisho Kurokawa was among its notable figures.
In Vietnam this spirit helps flexible housing, boarding houses, modular hotels and expandable homes. In humid coastal regions steel modules need galvanising or strong anti-corrosion coatings because of salt air; joints must be watertight and resist wind vibration in storms. Keep a concrete load-bearing core and centralise service shafts so modules are easy to swap.
