Over the last century humanity has explored the boundaries of how architecture should be defined. One significant architectural group to emerge in the late 1950s did exactly that. The Metabolist movement, based in Japan, experimented with ideas many had previously considered unthinkable, redefining how people use and interact with the space around them.

What began in Japan as a simple theory went on to impact the entire globe in terms of conceptual city planning, design and art, and u...