First heritage de-listing for Kyoto City as 90-yr old bookstore is about to be demolished
Demolition of the 90-year old Heirakuji Bookstore in downtown Kyoto will begin this month as the owner can no longer afford to maintain the aging building.
The building was registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 1998. The heritage listing will be removed due to the demolition of the structure. This is the first time a national heritage listing has been removed from a property in Kyoto City and the second time for Kyoto Prefecture.Read more
Hakone modernist hotel to close next year
Hakone Hotel Kowaki-en will close its doors in January 2018, marking the end of 60 years of operations. The 224-room hotel was designed by modernist architect Yoshimura Junzo and built in 1959. The hotel’s garden dates back to 1914.
The hotel closure is due to aging buildings and facilities. The owner and operator, Fujita Kanko, operates 6 other hotels in the immediate neighbourhood, and this site is expected to form part of a larger hotel redevelopment project. It could include the adjoining Kowaki-en Horai-en Garden, which is a 16,000 sqm traditional Japanese landscape garden. Fujita Kanko acquired the garden in 2015.Read more
Modernist building in Yokohama to be demolished next month
One of Yokohama's early examples of modernist architecture will soon be demolished. The Prefectural Police Headquarters Onoecho Government Building was built in 1952. The 3-story concrete building with a curved exterior, floor-to-ceiling glass windows and no front entrance is considered one of the city’s modernist masterpieces.Read more
Demolition underway on Omotesando public housing complex
Demolition of the old Aoyama Kitamachi Apaato housing complex in Omotesando is underway. Asbestos removal from four buildings is currently being carried out. Asbestos sheeting and spray-on insulation was used in some of the buildings’ rooftop waterproofing, plumbing insulation, and chimneys.
The city-owned public housing estate will soon be replaced with high-rise residential, aged care facilities and retail space.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has chosen six developers to partake in the project, including Tokyo Tatemono, Mitsui Fudosan, Kajima Corporation and Maeda Corporation.Read more
Nakano’s last surviving thatched-roof house to be demolished
The 160+ year old Hosoda Residence in Nakano, Tokyo, is expected to be demolished soon to make way for a city road. The road plan was enacted in 1966, but, as is the case with many of Tokyo's old road plans, remained dormant for several decades. The city obtained approval from the national government for the road construction in 2015 and plan to have the project completed by 2020.
This is the sole surviving thatched-roof house in Nakano Ward, and a very rare example of a typical farmhouse from the period in Tokyo’s 23 wards. Read more
Voting ratios relaxed to encourage speedier demolition of earthquake-damaged buildings in Kumamoto
On September 30, the Japanese government voted in favour of enacting an exemption to the apartment redevelopment law in order to help speed up redevelopment of buildings damaged by the Kumamoto earthquake in April. Under the special exemption, the voting ratio for demolishing an apartment building and selling the land has been reduced to 80% for damaged buildings in Kumamoto. This is the second time the exemption has been applied. It was first applied to three buildings damaged by the 2011 Tohoku disaster in Sendai city.
Ordinarily, 100% of apartment owners must agree before a building can be demolished and the land sold. However, if the building has been seriously damaged in a major earthquake, the ratio can be reduced to 80% if certain conditions are met. Nevertheless, obtaining 80% agreement is still a difficult task.
According to Kumamoto City, 19 apartments buildings were considered to be completely destroyed, 21 suffered major damage, and 52 suffered partial damage in April.Read more
Developer to raze 84-year old building in Ginza
Ginza is about to lose another of its pre-war buildings as an 84-year old office building is under demolition by a developer.
Demolition started in early September with the removal of asbestos. The building will be completely demolished by early November.Read more