University of Tokyo Faculty of Engineering Building 1

An Uchida Gothic Building Where Engineering Began

The University of Tokyo Faculty of Engineering Building 1 (東京大学工学部１号館) is a reinforced concrete teaching building completed in 1935 on the Hongo campus of the University of Tokyo in Bunkyo City, Tokyo, which in 1998 was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records four storeys and a building area of 3263 square metres, registered as a model of design, designed by Uchida Yoshikazu.

The Agency notes that it was built on the site of the old College of Engineering main building, damaged in the Great Kanto Earthquake.

Structure and Design

According to the Agency, it is steel-framed reinforced concrete faced in brick tile, with a Gothic-arched approach at the front and buttress-like pilasters on every column line.

The university notes that the site is where the Faculty of Engineering began at Hongo: the old College of Engineering main building, designed by Tatsuno Kingo, stood here from 1888, with a large courtyard and clock tower used as a kind of plaza.

What to Look For

The university notes that in 1996 Koyama Hisao of the architecture department extended and remodelled the building, roofing the light court to revive the plaza, which is now the heart of student life and the setting for graduation ceremonies.

Outside, notice the Gothic-arched approach and the buttress-like pilasters on each column line.

Visiting

Faculty buildings are generally closed to visitors, so view the exterior from the campus grounds.

Visiting rules and directions for the campus are on the University of Tokyo Hongo Campus group page.