Historic waterfront properties in Miura at risk of demolition
UPDATE: The building has since been demolished.
The University of Tokyo may be planning to demolish its Misaki Marine Biological Station Laboratory building in Kanagawa Prefecture. The 2-story, 1,000 sqm (10,760 sq.ft) building was built in 1936 and sits on a waterfront location overlooking Shoiso, Aburatsubo and Sagami Bays in Miura. The demolition is likely to also include the 400 sqm Exhibit of Aquatic Species building that was built in 1932. This was one of the Kanto region’s first full-scale aquariums and once drew over 100,000 visitors per year, turning the Aburatsubo area into a sight-seeing destination. Read more
Artist’s atelier in Tokyo to be demolished
Update: The house was demolished in 2018 and replaced with a subdivision of 10 homes.
The residence and atelier of Iwami Furusawa (1912-2000), surrealist painter and Japan’s Dali, will be demolished. A farewell party was held in late March by local volunteers.
Furusawa made his residence in Tokyo’s Itabashi ward after WWII, building his private art studio from a salvaged barn from a nearby farm. At the time, the neighborhood was a mixture of small workshops and homes. Read more
48-yr old Tokiwamatsu House condo being redeveloped
Tokiwamatsu House, a vintage condominium located a 10 minute walk south of Omotesando Station, is being redeveloped into a new apartment building. Demolition of the existing building is expected to be finished by late August.
The former block of apartments was developed by Sumitomo and built in 1970. It included 62 apartments on 8 floors with sizes ranging from 37 ~ 122 sqm (398 ~ 1,313 sq.ft). The most recent reported sale was a large apartment on a low floor that sold early last year for around 770,000 Yen/sqm, which is less than half of what a similarly-sized brand new apartment would cost in this neighbourhood.Read more
Kyoto to demolish 1 billion Yen EXPO 92 relic
The Danish Pavilion built for EXPO 92 in Seville and relocated to Japan in 1993 may be demolished early this year.Read more
Omotesando's Seihou Building to be redeveloped
A 51-year old retail and public housing building alongside Aoyama Dori Avenue in Omotesando will soon be rebuilt. The 10-storey Seihou Building was built in 1967 and has a total floor area of 6,075 sqm (65,000 sq ft). It is jointly owned by a subsidiary of Mizuho Bank and the Urban Renaissance Agency.
The new building will have a total floor area or 16,000 sqm (172,000 sq ft), more than 2.5 times the size of the older building.Read more
Kuwait Embassy to be rebuilt
Tokyo will lose another one of Kenzo Tange's works, with the Kuwait Embassy building in Tokyo due to be demolished and rebuilt next year.
The 47-year old building was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kenzo Tange (1913-2005) and completed in 1970. Tange is considered one of the most significant architects of the 20th century, designing numerous modernist buildings across Japan and the world.
The 4,100 sqm, 7-story embassy building is located in Minato ward’s Mita district. The upper floors housed the Ambassador’s Residence, while lower floors contained offices. Construction is scheduled to start in April 2018, with completion by April 2020. The new building will be 5-storeys with a total floor area of 3,500 sqm. Suga Architects Office has been selected as the design firm for the new building. Plans on their website show a glass building with a dramatic draped rooftop.
Historic Kudan Kaikan redevelopment plans announced
On September 21st, the Kanto Local Finance Bureau announced that Tokyu Land had won the competitive bidding process for the redevelopment of the Kudan Kaikan building in central Tokyo. The bidding price will be announced after Tokyu signs the contractural agreement in March 2018.
The developer will lease the 8,700 sqm block of land under a 70-year fixed term and will build a high-rise office tower on the site. The north-eastern corner of the original Kudan Kaikan building will be preserved and retrofitted using a base-isolation system (menshin-kozo).