The Honda Memorial Hall was established at the Institute for Materials Research to honor Kotaro Honda, the founder of the institute and the sixth president of Tohoku University. This building was constructed in memory of his attractive contribution over 25 years to Tohoku University. The construction started in October 1939 and was completed in October 1941. The three-story building is made of reinforced concrete, with a total floor space of 2,217㎡.
For more than 50 years, the building was damaged and renewal construction was planned. The renewal, starting in May 1994 and completed in October of the same year, did not change the exterior of the building, and preserved the marble used in the entrance hall and steps. Walls were strengthened and the interior refurbished. The main rooms in the renewed Honda Memorial Hall are the Director Room, the Honda Memorial Room, the Audio-visual Room, and the Administrative Office. Accommodation is available, for seven people in five rooms, for joint researchers etc., at the institute. Technical consultation is given to external researchers and engineers.
Honda’s apparatus and experiment notebooks the KS magnet steel, and several articles which remind us of him are exhibited in the Memorial Exhibition Room. Also displayed are articles which show the history and achievement of the institute.
In October 2021, the building was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), which under the Japanese system, modern buildings that are in danger of disappearing are protected and preserved for future generations.