Marunouchi Building (1923)
[The beauty of style of Kotaro Sakurai]

The former Marunouchi Building (hereafter referred to as "Marubiru," completed in 1923) is arguably an indispensable piece of architecture in Marunouchi, both before and after the war. The Marubiru Building was damaged by the Great Kanto Earthquake just before its completion, and then again by the Great Kanto Earthquake after its completion. In the Showa era, facade underwent a major change, switching from tile to mortar. facade reverted to tile in 1935 (eliminating the stylistic elements), and then to GRC in 1982, but these drawings are for the original exterior walls. Despite its three-story structure, the Marubiru Building gives an overall impression of simplicity, but a closer look reveals stylistic design details throughout. Among these, we would like to present detailed drawings of the distinctive central entrance and the corner of the eighth floor.
The central entrance features a two-story atrium with three consecutive arches. The drawing title is "MARUNOUCHI BUILDING TOKYO, JAPAN DETAIL OF MAIN ENTRANCE" and is composed of the plan, elevation, interior extension, and rectangular plan. The columns in the plan have a hollow in the center, indicating that they are made of brickwork. Furthermore, the words "BRICK ARCH" are written at the top of the plan, which means that the three consecutive arches were formed of stacked bricks.
The corner of the 8th floor is rounded, and the detailed drawing "MARUNOUCHI BUILDING TOKYO, JAPAN DETAIL OF ROUND CORNER OF 8TH FLOOR" shows that the corner is accentuated by stylistic elements such as a cornice decorated along the rounded surface of the corner, and four Doric-style orders placed on either side of the window. Furthermore, it can be seen that the entire order is made from "cast stone," or imitation stone.
It is assumed that this is because the construction was contracted to the American company Fuller, and the drawings are written in English, with dimensions in inch scale (3/4" = 1ʼ-0"). Even the signature is a perfect KS (Kotaro Sakurai).