Kiyoshi Mutō

Kiyoshi Mutō (武藤 清, Mutō Kiyoshi, 29 January 1903 – 12 March 1989)^[1] was a Japanese architect and structural engineer. He is considered the "father of the Japanese skyscraper" for his contributions to earthquake engineering.^[2]

Earthquake engineering research

Mutō was born in Toride, Ibaraki, Japan.^[1] He entered the Department of Architecture at Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo) in 1922 and graduated in 1925. He was immediately appointed Lecturer, and obtained a Dr of Engineering degree in 1931. In 1935, he was appointed Professor of Structural Engineering, a post which he held for almost 30 years, developing and teaching the principles of earthquake-resistant design.

Among his best known contributions was the development of a simple but accurate method for routine structural analysis of a moment resisting frame under lateral loading. Known as the "D Method", it replaced tedious, time-consuming calculations with numerical tables, and was widely used for many years throughout the world.^[3] It was adopted into the Calculation Standard of the Architectural Institute of Japan in 1933.^[1]

Work as structural engineer

After retiring from the University of Tokyo in 1963, Muto became executive vice president of Kajima Corporation, a major construction company. He also founded his own company, the Muto Institute of Structural Mechanics, in 1965.^[4] At Kajima, he led the team that designed Japan's first high-rise building, the 36-story Kasumigaseki Building. Among his innovations for this building was first energy dissipation system used in Japan, a slit wall system consisting of precast reinforced concrete strips that stabilized the building under strong winds and small earthquakes and absorbed the energy of strong earthquakes.^[1]

Works

Kasumigaseki Building (Tokyo)

Mutō was the structural engineer for many of Tokyo's tallest and best-known buildings, including the following.^[2]

• Kasumigaseki Building (1967)
• World Trade Center (1970)
• Keio Plaza Hotel (1971)
• Shinjuku Mitsui Building (1974)
• Sunshine 60 (1978)
• Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka (1982)
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (1991)