Shinagawa's historic Hara Museum to close in 2020
The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Shinagawa, Tokyo is scheduled to close its doors at the end of 2020. The 80-year old Bauhaus-style building poses too many maintenance and repair issues to continue to remain open to the public.
Historic home in Bunkyo-ku to be demolished next month
An 81-year old house in Tokyo’s Bunkyo ward will be demolished next month. A farewell open-house event was held on November 16 and 17 by a Bunkyo historical preservation society, with over 280 visitors lining up to visit the home for the last time.
Historic brick warehouse in Nagasaki under demolition
Nagasaki City is pushing ahead with the demolition of a historic brick warehouse in Matsugaemachi. According to city archives, the Lake & Co. Warehouse was built sometime in the mid-Meiji period (1868-1912) by merchant brothers George and Edward Lake to store goods for their general store.
Nakagin Capsule Tower edging closer to demolition
One of the leading examples of Japan’s metabolist school of architecture - Nakagin Capsule Tower - is inching closer towards a potential fate of demolition after the land under the building recently changed hands.
On June 29, the land underneath the Nakagin Capsule Tower building was sold to CTB GK, a limited liability company established only earlier that month. The sale included the land, the 1st floor retail space, 2nd floor office space, 16 capsules and two buildings behind the Capsule Tower. The seller was Nakagin Group, the developer of the building. The new owner promptly informed the chairperson of the apartment owners association of their intent to redevelop the site. Read more
City struggling to protect crumbling historic home
A 99-year old historic residence in Hyogo Prefecture is close to collapse, leaving city officials struggling to find a way to protect it against the wishes of its owner.
The Ando Residence was built in 1919 near Okubo Station in Akashi City. The exterior walls of the home are built from stone, while the mansard roof has emerald-green glazed Spanish tiles. It was designed by architect Yutaro Kagoya (1876-1936). Kagoya specialized in repairing old shrines and temples before establishing his own architectural firm that designed homes. Some of his works included the Sarue Dojunkai Apartments (c1927) in Koto Ward, Tokyo (demolished in 1992), the Takushoku University main building (c1932) in Tokyo, and the Higashi Honganji temple in Asakusa (c1939).Read more
Sale falls through for 91-yr old former bank building in Kyushu
The sale of a city-owned historic building in Kurume, Kyushu, fell through recently, with the city now considering future options for sale. The building was built in 1927 as the Kurume Branch for the 77 Bank (now the Bank of Fukuoka). In 1968 it was sold to Kurume City and had been used as a public library annex and archives up until 2010. The exterior and interior remains largely unchanged from its original condition.Read more
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