World Monument Funds<\/b><\/a> feared that the situation might increase the likelihood of demolition. In June 2018, the gymnasium was included among eight global sites to receive preservation funding from American Express through the World Monuments Fund program.<\/p>\n![\"kenzo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/kenzo-tange-kagawa-prefectural-gymnasium-demolition-petition-save-designboom-04.jpg\")
bird\u2019s-eye view from the south, 2016 | photo by Noriyuki Kawanishi<\/p>\n
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Kenzo Tange reinforced concrete for his vessel building<\/b><\/p>\n
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In the 1950s, Masanori Kaneko, then governor of Japan\u2019s Kagawa Prefecture, tapped Kenzo Tange to design two new buildings in the prefectural capital, Takamatsu. At the time, Tange was Japan\u2019s leading architect, also working on the design of the Yoyogi National Gymnasium for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.<\/p>\n
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For the Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium, the architect used modern materials to evoke the form of a traditional Japanese wooden barge as well as the strong, supple body of an athlete. The tilted-ship shape of the structure, the root of its moniker \u2018boat gym,\u2019 consists of a deep concrete ring carried on four massive supports, with a roof of thin concrete slabs supported by suspension cables. Inside, the sports hall lies above the entry level, which contains other facilities including dressing rooms and offices. Built in the 1960s, the gymnasium was Tange\u2019s way of exploring how reinforced concrete could create a vast, dynamic interior space.<\/p>\n
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The eaves soar upward above the welcoming glass facade of the entrance, while the symmetric curved ceiling evokes excitement during competitions and ceremonies. The World Monuments Fund has warned that destroying this invaluable gymnasium would be \u2018an irretrievable loss.\u2019<\/p>\n
![\"saving](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/kenzo-tange-kagawa-prefectural-gym-japan-petition-save-designboom-01.jpg\")
image courtesy of Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium<\/p>\n
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A NEW FUTURE FOR THE \u2018BOAT GYM\u2019<\/p>\n
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Due to this support, the WMF launched a project in 2019 to foster community initiatives against demolition. However, until recently, without a solid buyer to restore and maintain the structure, the prospect of bulldozing the building remained on the table. Now, the self-funded private proposal signals a turning point: if approved, the plan would not only preserve one of Kenzo Tange\u2019s modernist masterpieces but also transform it into a vibrant destination for art, culture, and tourism \u2014 offering a sustainable alternative to demolition and ensuring the legacy of the \u2018boat gym\u2019 for future generations.<\/p>\n
![\"kenzo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/kenzo-tange-kagawa-prefectural-gymnasium-demolition-petition-save-designboom-01.jpg\")
west view of the Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium, 2017 | photo by Yuichi Hirano<\/p>\n
![\"kenzo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/kenzo-tange-kagawa-prefectural-gymnasium-demolition-petition-save-designboom-02.jpg\")
images courtesy of World Monuments Fund | header and photo by Noriyuki Kawanishi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium\u2019s demolition news \u00a0 News surrounding the potential demolition of the concrete and modernist Kagawa Prefectural…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[10486,4021,4020,29007,4022,77,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-344286","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-architecture-in-japan","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-concrete-architecture-and-design","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115028051232473824","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"kenzo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/kenzo-tange-kagawa-prefectural-gymnasium-demolition-petition-save-designboom-03.jpg\")