The first time I ran past the Kudan Kaikan in central Tokyo, I was intrigued by the "East meets West" architecture, but then I wondered "How safe would a building like that be in an earthquake?"
Then thought, "I'm finally thinking like a resident of Tokyo!"
This building did have an interesting history. It was built in the 1930's and was used as a military rest house during World War II. With a large auditorium and meeting rooms it was used for many concerts and film premiers over the years.
But, in 2011 during the earthquake that caused the triple disaster in northern Japan, part of the auditorium ceiling collapsed, killing two and injuring many people The building remained closed after that.
In Japan, people look at buildings built prior to the newest standard of earthquake-resistant architecture "old" and "unsafe". The best that can be done to preserve them is what was done with Kudan Kaikan, as you can see below. Keep the facade, and build a new building within the footprint of the old building.
Because of fires, floods, earthquakes, and also the bombings of World War II there are so few old buildings in Tokyo, so it's always good to see one being preserved, at least in part.
