Nagoya, Japan--When it opens next year, a private station development project in Japan's third largest city will begin cashing in on the economic development opportunities offered by major rail terminals. Some 4.8 million square feet of retail, entertainment, hotel, and office space will be housed in two cylindrical hotel and office towers connected by a 20-story podium atop Nagoya's main station.
The complex, including a 53-story hotel and a 51-story office tower, will be linked by a mixed-use facility comprising the high speed bullet train station, a major department store, and retail outlets along with movies, restaurants, and cultural facilities.
Owned by the privately-run Central Japan Railway Company (JC), the complex was designed by New York architects Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, and its construction is supervised by Sakakura Associates, a Japanese architectural and engineering firm. Construction of the vast facility has been underway since 1994.
An intermodal terminal and major regional transportation hub, Nagoya Station serves some 300,000 commuters a day with more than 1,000 trains. It combines access to high speed rail, commuter trains, the city subway, and bus lines. A parking level will include space for 1,700 cars. In addition, the complex will contain an underground shopping mall, a feature of interurban rail stations in Japan's major cities.
The future Number 1 and Number 2 tracks and platforms of the station complex will pass through the new building. The floor and pillar surfacing for the two platforms will be upgraded from conventional materials to match the design and style of the luxury mixed-use building. The main station concourse will be a vast covered space with escalators leading to the stores and a pedestrian promenade at an upper level. The pedestrian promenade inside the station complex will link up with both (previously separated) parts of the city bus terminal. Outside, a pedestrian plaza with cascading fountains, benches, and greenery will provide a meeting and relaxation space in the central city.
The station complex is intended to become Nagoya's landmark structure, combining the functions of commuter terminal, shopping mall, and dining and entertainment center. Unlike most Japanese cities, Nagoya is known for its wide streets, extensive private car use, and median strip high speed bus routes.
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