Local News

Accompanying the move of its Hakozaki Campus (Higashi Ward) facilities to Ito Campus (Nishi Ward), Kyushu University has decided to look for a buyer for the Hakozaki site who will agree to preserve three Taisho and early Showa-era buildings. The buildings in question are (1) the old Faculty of Engineering Building, a reinforced concrete structure built in 1930, (2) Headquarters Building 1, a brick building built in 1925, and (3) the Main Gate, a brick structure built in 1914. In 2012, a working group of composed university officials and outside stakeholders met to assess the architectural value of 22 early modern buildings on the Hakozaki Campus, and it deemed the three structures as “extremely valuable examples of early modern architecture”. The Faculty of Engineering has already moved to Ito Campus, and remaining facilities are scheduled to finish moving by the end of fiscal 2016. Kyushu officials understand that requiring a buyer to preserve the buildings could result in a lower sale price for the site, but say they feel “it is necessary to leave the three buildings for future generations.” Source: Nishinippon Shimbun 2/19