The old U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa building on Camp Lester, Okinawa, seen here Aug. 24, 2023, is slated for demolition. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

CAMP LESTER, Okinawa — A Japanese firm that specializes in 3D mapping of historic buildings wants to create a virtual memory of a condemned U.S. military landmark before it’s demolished.

Ikemiya Shokai Co. Ltd., a printing and scanning company in Naha, Okinawa, contacted the Marine Corps last year with an offer to create an interactive computer model of the old U.S. naval hospital on Camp Lester, company president Taku Ikemiyagi said Aug. 24. The final product would work similar to Google Street View.

The 65-year-old building, admired by architectural students, was designed by world-renowned firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of Chicago. It designed and built the town of Oak Ridge, Tenn., for the World War II-era Manhattan Project and in later years designed the Air Force Academy campus with its distinctive Cadet Chapel in Colorado Springs, Colo. It’s also responsible for One World Trade Center in New York and Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building.

The old hospital on Camp Lester was abandoned and fenced off in 2013 when Naval Hospital Okinawa opened on neighboring Camp Foster. The building will be leveled and the property turned over to the Japanese government as part of a 2006 agreement aimed at reducing the Marine footprint on the island, Randell Stallings, the hospital’s safety and occupational health manager, said by email Wednesday.

Ikemiyagi said he offered to scan the structure for free and agreed to adhere to any stipulations the U.S. military has, such as handing over the scanned data or not publishing it until after the building is demolished to avoid security concerns.

So far, he has received no response from Marine Corps Installations Pacific, which is responsible for the structure, through contacts at Marine Corps Community Services.

“We cannot find another building like this on the island,” he said. “We are worried they will tear it down before we can record it.”

Formerly known as U.S. Army Hospital Ryukyu Islands, the 250,000-square-foot building held 700 beds during the height of the Vietnam War. Shortly before it closed in March 2013, the hospital each day provided more than 500 women with obstetric and gynecological care.

Ikemiya Shokai was founded by Ikemiyagi’s grandfather, Yukioki, in 1950, Ikemiyagi said. From its factory in China, the company published books about old buildings on Okinawa and in Manchuria, among other publications.

It has maintained strong ties with the U.S. military on Okinawa over the years, he said. Ikemiya Shokai once printed Stars and Stripes and now contracts with MCCS.

Taku Ikemiyagi, president of the Naha-based printing and 3D scanning firm Ikemiya Shokai Co. Ltd., poses with a 3D camera outside the old naval hospital on Camp Lester, Okinawa, Aug. 24, 2023. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. Army Hospital Ryukyu Islands was commissioned in 1958 on what is today known as Camp Lester, Okinawa. Later named U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa, the building was abandoned in 2013 after a new facility was built on neighboring Camp Foster. (U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa)

The company started its 3D mapping business in 2021 because Ikemiyagi wanted to try something new. It purchased specialized cameras, including the 360-degree Matterport Pro3, which requires a photo every 3 to 6 feet.

The company charges just over $300 to scan 950 square feet in new buildings but will take on historical projects for free, Ikemiyagi said. It has mapped some of the last pre-World War II buildings left on the island, including the Ogimi village office, Okinawa’s oldest concrete structure.

It also scanned St. Clara Church in Yonabaru and the island’s oldest movie theater, Shuri Gekijyo, in Naha. It’s now scanning Okinawa Arena in Okinawa city, which hosted the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

A spokesman for Marine Corps Installations Pacific, Capt. Brett Dornhege-Lazaroff, acknowledged the receipt of questions about the firm’s offer by email Sept. 1 and by phone Wednesday. The command had not answered them by Wednesday afternoon.

"Many people used to work here, and many people were born or hospitalized here,” Ikemiyagi said. “We want them to be able to see inside it through the internet, even after it’s been demolished.”