History

September 1925

One of the largest office buildings in western Japan

Construction completed on Daibiru-Honkan Building in Sozecho (now Nakanoshima), Kita-ku, Osaka

The Daibiru-Honkan Building was constructed at a location in the Nakanoshima area of Osaka, a major economic and cultural hub, and was described as “a building befitting ‘Dai-Osaka’ (Big Osaka)” due to its large scale and high functionality. It was the first building in Osaka following the Great Kanto Earthquake to employ earthquake-resistant construction, and this would serve as a precursor to Daibiru’s later emphasis on earthquake resistance. The Daibiru Club was established on the western half of the top floor (eighth floor) of the building. It served as a social space for the building’s occupants, where important figures from the Kansai business world gathered for meals and meetings.

Comparing the old and the new

Comparing the old and the new: Daibiru-Honkan Building Newly constructed after 90 years
Inherited brickwork and design concepts

The old Daibiru-Honkan Building was considered to be a trailblazer in the history of full-scale rental office buildings in Japan.
How then would we go about reconstructing this renowned building? At the culmination of various discussions, we concluded that: “It is essential that the building be restored to its historical appearance while retaining its original form. At the same time, it must realize the latest functionality and safety features so that it can continue to be used for many years to come.” While the terra cotta, bricks, and stone reliefs that made up the exterior of the old Daibiru-Honkan Building were reused, the finishing touches on the new Daibiru-Honkan Building incorporated a lavish array of state-of-the-art concepts and technologies.

The Eagle and Girl statue

The Neo-Romanesque exterior with an Eastern flavor played a large role in what caught people’s attention about the old Daibiru-Honkan Building. The Eagle and Girl statue, which adorned the half-circle arch in the central foyer, was also restored and has long been a familiar presence among the public since the building’s completion.

Daibiru Salon 1923

Daibiru Salon 1923 was established on the first floor. Here, the adornments and furnishings of the old Daibiru-Honkan Building have been reproduced, and are reminiscent of the Daibiru Club, which served as a social space for the building’s occupants.

August 1967

Functional and scenic contribution to the local community

Construction completed on Yaesu Daibiru Building in Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

In order to construct a building that would be an appropriate gateway to the capital city of Tokyo, no projecting billboards, which spoil the surrounding scenery, were allowed to be attached to the Yaesu Daibiru Building. The first floor was equipped with showcase windows that faced the sidewalk to allay impressions of a dark streetscape, with the basement level directly connected to the Yaesu underground shopping mall via a belowground passageway, thus creating a vibrant commercial atmosphere. A garage with a capacity of 74 vehicles was also installed on the basement level. The building’s exterior appearance, its night-time illumination, and the provision of parking spaces with consideration to the traffic situation, all served to contribute to the local community.

September 1984

Construction of the first hotel to pioneer the establishment of air rights

Construction completed on Dojima Daibiru Building (ANA Crowne Plaza Osaka) in Dojimahama, Kita-ku, Osaka

The Dojima Daibiru Building was a project involving the construction of a luxury city hotel by Daibiru and the leasing of this hotel in its entirety to ANA Enterprises. At the outset of the planning process, we were faced with the challenge of being unable to construct a building to the scale requested by ANA Enterprises for the hotel due to an insufficient legal floor area ratio. This challenge was resolved by establishing an air rights agreement with the adjacent Club Kansai. The Dojima Daibiru Building was highly significant for Daibiru in representing our first commercial building other than offices as well as our first involvement in constructing a skyscraper with more than ten floors and the first time we had established air rights.

October 1989

Daibiru’s first engagement with the challenge of a reconstruction project

First-phase reconstruction completed on Hibiya Daibiru Building; construction completed on new building

The reconstruction of the Hibiya Daibiru Building represented Daibiru’s first attempt to demolish and reconstruct a building that was still occupied by multiple tenants. Promoting the reconstruction plan involved two major challenges. The first of these was the question of what should be done regarding securing a location at which to temporarily relocate tenants. The other challenge was the method to be employed in reconstruction. This unprecedented, approximately decade-long project had virtually no previous parallel examples among industry peers and its completion on schedule further enhanced Daibiru’s reputation.

Comparing the old and the new

Comparing the old and the new: Hibiya Daibiru Building The old Building No. 1 transformed into 21-story skyscraper
The old Building No. 2 transformed into a publicly accessible green open space

More than 60 years had passed since construction of the Hibiya Daibiru Building, and its reconstruction plan was themed on “design incorporating the surrounding urban environment.” The design thus aimed to optimize the entire project by converting the site of Building No. 2 into a green space and compensating for this space by transforming the site of Building No. 1 into a skyscraper.
The old Hibiya Daibiru Building was famed for the 125 gargoyle and animal masks attached to the exterior walls as talismans to ward off evil and was a familiar presence among local people. When the decision was made to reconstruct the building due to age-related deterioration, dozens of written petitions pleading to save the decorative animal masks and reliefs were received.
In response to these calls, these masks and reliefs have been mounted in the courtyard of the 21st-floor atrium of the new Hibiya Daibiru Building and at locations in the publicly accessible open space.

Site of the old Hibiya Daibiru Building No. 2 turned into a publicly accessible open space

A bronze goddess statue and hero statue by Japanese sculptor Teizo Okuni, which had been placed on the left and right walls at the first-floor front entrance of the old Building No. 1, have been placed at the north and south entrances of the new building just as they were in the past.

Gargoyle and animal masks and animal reliefs

Six of the gargoyle and animal masks were equipped in the waterfall in the publicly accessible open space, where they were deployed as features with water pouring out of their mouths. Gargoyle and animal masks and animal reliefs were also mounted at various locations on the site and enjoyed mass media coverage for their creation of striking scenes in an urban space.

May 2000

Overcoming extreme density

Construction completed on Umeda Daibiru Building in Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka

The vicinity of the Umeda Daibiru Building was lined with high-rise buildings over 100 m in height, with an 800% floor-area ratio in an area of around 2.6 ha. The major key to the design of the Umeda Daibiru Building was in discerning how to overcome this extreme density and realize an appealing urban space. After a series of trial-and-error attempts, a design plan was formulated ensuring large pilotis with a ceiling height of 15 m on the first floor. This facilitated the successful development of a dynamic, three-dimensional urban space with a walkable urban environment. The building was also directly connected to Garden Avenue, a 600-m-long underground walkway, thereby providing excellent access to the Umeda area and railway lines in its vicinity.

March 2005

Playing our part in the creation of a world-class tech hub

Construction completed on Akihabara Daibiru Building in Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (redevelopment project in front of Akihabara Station)

The Akihabara Daibiru Building which would play a core role in the Akihabara Crossfield IT hub, was required to have four functions: industry-academia collaboration, the attraction of visitors, information networks, and office space. Befitting an IT hub, it incorporated on its second floor a learning and creativity zone and convention hall, and on its fifth floor a conference floor and industry-academia exchange zone, with overtures made to attract tenants for floors 6 through 15 that would contribute to industry-academia collaborative functions. IT-related companies, universities, and public research institutes have subsequently taken up occupancy in the building.

November 2019

First expansion into core regional city in Japan

Three buildings, including DAIBIRU PIVOT in Chuo-ku, Sapporo acquired (first project involving extension of operations to a core regional city)

Daibiru launched operations in Sapporo as part of its goal to expand into the so-called regional core cities outside Osaka and Tokyo and thereby increase the geographical scope of its business and achieve a new leap forward.
As part of this, it acquired three properties in the heart of Sapporo City—PIVOT, the Pentagram Building, and the Keiwa MT Building—commercial facilities which had boasted the largest scale in a commercial district of Sapporo City for almost half a century. Daibiru renamed the three properties Daibiru PIVOT, Daibiru PIVOT West, and Daibiru PIVOT South and continued to operate them. Meanwhile, in January 2020, it opened the Sapporo Project Office (now the Sapporo Project Department).

See project story