NEWS
Ceremony to Celebrate the Beginning of the Renovation of University Hall
Update: April 24, 2024
On April 19, the university held a ceremony to celebrate the beginning of the renovation of ICU's University Hall and to pray for smooth progress and the safety of everyone moving forward.
The University Hall of ICU was initially built in 1944 as a building for planning for the Nakajima Aircraft Mitaka Research Institute, and was renovated to its current state by architect William Merrell Vories in 1953. Since then, the building has served as the centerpiece of ICU's campus, and has been loved by students, faculty, and alumni for over 70 years.
However, the many decades of use has become increasingly apparent in the state of the building. Through this year's renovations, the building will become a safer and more comfortable space for students as older equipment and facilities are replaced with newer ones and seismic retrofitting is undertaken. Simultaneously, all efforts will be taken to retain the building's historic value and significance to the community.
More specifically, the renovation process involves the installation of new air conditioning units, new light fixtures (LED), automatic doors at the main and west entrances, and thermal insulation in the exterior walls; replacement of the window curtains and glass to improve thermal insulation; and replacement of outward-opening classroom doors to inward-opening (with the exception of some which will be sliding). In the first floor lobby, the sash that used to hang between the stairwells at the time of the university's opening in 1953 will be restored, and the ceiling from when Nakajima Aircraft Industry owned the building will also be restored to bring back memories of the building's early years.
Approximately 40 individuals, composed of members and affiliates of ICU and the construction team, participated in the ceremony. Reverend Shoko Kitanaka, a university minister, officiated the ceremony. After Mr. Yuko Nakamura, Managing Executive Officer and Chief of Tokyo Branch of Taisei Corporation, delivered a speech, Takashi Nakajima, Managing Trustee for Financial Affairs, expressed his gratitude and thoughts on the renovation project on behalf of the University. His heartfelt wishes for University Hall, which has embodied the university's dedication philosophy and witnessed generations of alumni commitment to education since 2013, were made clear as well as his desire to smoothly complete the project and make it a joyful change for all students, faculty and staff.
In her address, Reverend Shoko Kitanaka spoke of the existence of University Hall as a symbol of education and peace following the devastation of World War II and emphasized the significance of the renovation project with a reading of Isaiah 2:4 and prayer. (See below.)
After the service, ICU President Shoichiro Iwakiri and Chair of the Board of Trustees Hirotaka Takeuchi gave their greetings. President Iwakiri shared memories of University Hall 20 years plus years prior to his election into presidency and expounded on the significance of a historic building such as this one in allowing us to feel the passage of time. Chair Takeuchi shared his excitement to hand off this place of learning and encounter to the next generation of students and his hopeful expectations for the renovation project.
Construction is projected to end by February of 2025.
Renovation of University Hall | Reverend Shoko Kitanaka's Ceremonial Address
We received remarks from two people at this Ceremony today, but we acknowledge the presence of many others who are in some way involved with this project. Every person was crucial to each step of progress we made, and thanks to you all that our goal is being realized at this ceremony marking the beginning of construction work.
Looking back, the topic of renovating University Hall has been the topic of discussion for several years. Given the building's declining condition and increasing number of students, questions were raised regarding the need to continue using University Hall in the midst of significant changes occurring within University. Countless stakeholders, including the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, students, and alumni's opinions were enlisted before determining the course of action we would take.
Having reached a decision, we needed to wait first for the completion of Troyer Memorial Arts and Sciences Hall (T-kan), then the renovation of the Science Hall, and only then could the renovation work for University Hall begin. The construction of T-kan took place in the midst of the pandemic, spurred by the words of our University President, "Education must go on." On the flip side, it was precisely because of this belief that the renovation of University Hall, where many of ICU's classrooms are located, required great discernment and effort to ensure that education would continue in its absence.
In that sense, determining whether or not University Hall was worth the degree of effort, time, and expenses it would cost to renovate and maintain the building was crucial to our discussions--as it was for the renovation of the Science Hall and Diffendorfer Memorial Hall. These questions regarding the value of maintaining University Hall as opposed to tearing it down to build something new, we believe, came from the principle of and desire to reflect the University's values in every decision that is made. It is due to the long history of University Hall that more so than any other building on campus, University Hall required our utmost care and consideration in answering these questions. The original construction of University Hall predates ICU, and, in its early years, played a substantial role in WWII. After the war ended, University Hall was born again as a building that would nurture education and peace for years to come. The significance of the symbolism University Hall possesses is not replicated anywhere else on campus, and even now, 70 years later, University Hall continues to be the face of ICU and center of learning on campus for students.
The scripture today was inscribed on the memorial plaque embedded in one of the pillars at the main entrance of University Hall in December 2011, celebrating the "70th Anniversary" of the building and its significance to our campus. It is well known by the phrase, "Beating swords into plowshares" and is inscribed on a sculpture in the United Nations plaza in New York City.
"They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore."
The prophet Isaiah tells us that the days of sharpening spears and swords for warfare will come to an end and that these weapons will instead be transformed into plows and sickles, tools of peace to cultivate the earth and sustain life. Not learning about warfare does not mean not learning the history of war. It means to stop studying the methods of warfare and learning to kill for the purpose of winning. It turns our attention to the infinite possibilities education offers us, for there is certainly more to seek through study and learning beyond warfare.
The story of University Hall strongly resonates with the prophecy of Isaiah, but actually realizing a world of peace requires endless effort and inquiry. As a place that nurtures students of the 21st century, we pray that University Hall may continue to produce the efforts and inquiries necessary for achieving peace for many years to come, and as a building that will forever represent the dedication and ideology of ICU, may it never again be used for war but become an instrument for peace so long as it stands on this campus.