Osaka Gas Building

In 1905, Osaka Gas built a company building which was designed by Junkichi Tanabe in Nakanoshima 3-chome, but it was in 1928, the widening of Yotsubashi-suji, the road in front of the building, prompted the company to think of relocating to a new building. The company decided to set up on Mido-suji, which was then being widened as a new central axis for Osaka, and then the company picked a site on a corner between Mido-suji and Hiranomachi-dori, a central East-West axis. Osaka Gas commissioned the design from Takeo Yasui, and its construction began in April 1930 and was completed in March 1933. The exterior design created a comfortable feeling of order employing complex manipulations of the elevation, such as the contrast between black granite on the first and the second floors and milky white-colored tile on the upper floors, the vertical rhythm of columns with parabolic sections, and their combination with the horizontal black lines of eaves running around each floor. The interior was brimming with fresh new methods, such as the extensive use of glass blocks. In 1966, the building was extended on the North side with a design by Shoichi Sano, to complete the “one block, one building” form that had been the initial aim. The extension is indeed also a skillful piece of work.