We have started a web series to "rediscover" our forefather, architect Masanori Sugiyama.

​A new series, "Rediscovering the architectural aesthetics left behind by Masanori Sugiyama," tracing the footsteps of Masanori Sugiyama (1904-1999), an architect who was active at our company (then Mitsubishi Estate), has begun on the architectural web media "BUNGA NET."

As the right-hand man of Antonin Raymond, an architect who had a profound influence on the world of Japanese architecture, Sugiyama contributed to masterpieces such as the Akaboshi Tetsuma House (1934) and the Tokyo Woman's Christian University Chapel (1937). During the war, he shifted the focus of his activities to Mitsubishi Estate, and during the period of rapid economic growth in Otemachi, Marunouchi, and Yurakucho, he worked on a number of buildings that would go on to become the standard for office buildings in the area, including the Otemachi Building, the New Tokyo Building, the Yurakucho Building, and the New Yurakucho Building.
Sugiyama, who was involved in the growth and development of the region from the red brick town of the Meiji period to its modern office district, can be said to be an architect who contributed to the modernization of Japan's cities and economy, andis a pioneer of today's Mitsubishi Jisho Design.

The prewar Raymond office, led by Sugiyama, was home to many of Japan's greatest masters, including young Maekawa Kunio and Yoshimura Junzo.
Although Sugiyama was such a great figure that Junzo Yoshimura loved him and called him his "older brother," he was a taciturn and unpretentious person who never spoke much about his own work, and perhaps because of this,​ ​Sugiyama's achievements have not received much attention in the architectural world until now.

Written by Motoharu Taneda (Associate Professor at Bunka Gakuen University) and with the cooperation of various academics and related parties, this project attempts to "rediscover Sugiyama Masanori," unraveling various discourses and the buildings he designed to reveal his hidden character and achievements. It willnot only explore the history of our company, but will also provide a new perspective on the history of modern Japanese architecture.
Please take a look!