Handa Red Brick Building, Conversion

Handa Red Brick Building is a half-timbered structure that combines large-scale multilayered brick construction with a timber frame. It is an extraordinary building, with architectural, cultural, and historic value. This building was designed by Yorinaka Tsumaki, one of the big three in the Meiji-era architecture world. It was built in 1898 as the brewery for Kabuto Beer, but went through many changes before becoming the property of Handa City in 1996. In order to put the building to use, it was thoroughly surveyed, designed, and built to be reborn as a new center for tourism. It is also widely loved by the people of Handa. In the development and remodeling design process, we held numerous discussions with various people in the local government, civic groups, and others, so that the remaining building would be used as a “living” building, rather than just being preserved. As a result, the building was developed with exhibits showing the appeal of Kabuto Beer and the building, a cafe and shop where visitors can enjoy the recreated Kabuto Beer, a club house (rental space) usable by the public, and a lawn area. Our work included seismic reinforcement and cladding refurbishment of the whole building, planning the interior decor, building services, and displays in the used parts of the first floor, and development of exterior spaces. In this process, out of respect for the building’s nearly 120 years of history, we mainly used a construction method for seismic reinforcement that inserted reinforcing bars inside the brick walls from the top. This approach left the building as a living relic of the Meiji Era.