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

The Old Marunouchi Building (hereafter referred to as Maru Building, completed in 1923) is an indispensable piece of architecture in Marunouchi both before and after the war. Just before its completion, this Maru Building was hit by the Kanto Earthquake, and again after its completion by the Great Kanto Earthquake. In the Showa era, facade was significantly changed from tile to mortar coating. facade was changed back to tile in 1935 (losing the stylistic elements), and then to GRC coating in 1982, but these drawings are for the original exterior walls. Although Maru Building has a three-layer structure, it gives a simple impression overall, but if you look closely, you will see that stylized designs are used in many places. In particular, we would like to introduce detailed drawings of the distinctive central entrance and the corner of the 8th floor.
The central entrance is characterized by a two-story atrium with three arches in succession. The title of the plan is "MARUNOUCHI BUILDING TOKYO, JAPAN DETAIL OF MAIN ENTRANCE" and it is composed of the plan, elevation, interior extension, and square footage. The plan shows that the pillars have a cavity in the center, and are made of brick. Furthermore, the top of the square footage says "BRICK ARCH," which shows that the three arches were made 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 cornice along the rounded corner and the four Doric orders arranged on either side of the window emphasize the stylistic elements. Furthermore, the entire order is made of "cast stone," that is, imitation stone.
It is assumed that this is because the construction was contracted to the American company Fuller, but the drawings are written in English and the dimensions are in inch scale (3/4”=1ʼ-0”). Even the signature reads KS (Kotaro Sakurai) to the letter.