Chapter 2 Reconstruction

1945

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1957

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  3. Chapter 2: Reconstruction
  4. Section 2. Our Buildings Reopen
  5. 2. The Completion of the South Wing of the Shin-Daibiru Building

Section 2. Our Buildings Reopen

2. The Completion of the South Wing of the Shin-Daibiru Building

The land in Dojima, Osaka, which the company had begun acquiring in 1951, was released from requisitioning on April 28, 1953. While the acquisition plan itself was still ongoing, the company began making plans to construct an office building on the land that it was going to acquire. However, the special procurement boom had ended, causing an economic recession. The company had no choice but to abandon its plans to build a new building in May 1954. Still, the land, which covered 13,346 m2, could not be left empty, so after some twists and turns, part of it was donated to the city of Osaka as a park. It later became Dojima Park. Meanwhile, a playground that doubled as a baseball diamond was built in the eastern portion, and it was used not only for baseball games but also for entertainment and trade fairs.

  • Phase one of the construction of the Shin-Daibiru Building

It was not until 1956, when a lengthy economic recovery began, that the company revived its plans for constructing a new building. The company commissioned Murano & Mori Architects to design and supervise the project and began searching for tenants to move in after construction. The formal decision to build the South Wing (phase one of construction) was made on August 23, 1956, and Obayashi Corporation was commissioned by special order to handle construction. They broke ground on September 28, 1956. It was completed one year, seven months later, on April 30, 1958, and named the Shin-Osaka Building (later renamed the Shin-Daibiru Building).

The main structure used earthquake-resistant and fire-resistant steel-frame reinforced concrete construction. It had nine aboveground floors, four underground floors, two penthouse floors, an eave height of 31 m, a penthouse height of 43 m, and a total floor area of 28,177 m2. The first-floor had granite-clad outer pillars set back from the exterior walls with showcase windows between the pillars, and durable armored glass was used for entrance doors. Chalk tiles were used for the exterior of the second floor and above. It goes without saying that the building included elevators, air conditioning units, and other state-of-the-art equipment.

The South Wing of the Shin-Daibiru Building opened on May 1, 1958. Its tenants included The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, Ltd. (now SBI Shinsei Bank, Limited), the Japan Development Bank (now the Development Bank of Japan Inc.), Osaka Yogyo Cement (now Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co., Ltd.), Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. (now Asahi Kasei Corporation), Nippon Broadcasting System, Inc., Nippon Remington Univac Kaisha, Ltd. (now BIPROGY Inc.), and Nissin Electric Co., Ltd. By the end of September 1958, five months after opening, the occupancy rate had reached 93.1%.

Section2. Our Buildings Reopen

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