JR East is promoting the Yokohama Station West Exit Building Plan (tentative name) to develop an attractive and thriving gateway suitable for the international city of Yokohama.
As part of the plan, JR East is scheduled to propose the development of a Special Urban Renaissance District to the City of Yokohama, based on the Act on Special Measures concerning Urban Reconstruction.
In principle the building as a whole will be designed with a breezy lateral motif to blend in with the surrounding natural environment including the wind from the sea.
The building’s facade will be designed to symbolically accentuate the atrium as the new gateway to the West Exit of Yokohama Station. The atrium will be four-stories high with a bright, open and dramatic space. While functioning as a transport hub, it will serve as a gathering space for the local community, and be a transmission point providing all kinds of information to users and visitors. A multi-layer excursion deck and roof-top plazas with diverse green spaces will be developed on the side facing the tracks, from where visitors can enjoy a panoramic and unique view of Yokohama with railways.
Commercial and office facilities suitable for driving the appeal of Yokohama as an international city will be concentrated in one spot. The plan will take the initiative of building a pedestrian network on multiple floors to enhance the station’s link and accessibility with its urban surroundings. Building up the pedestrian network will give rise to smooth transit routes between railway lines, nearby facilities, underground malls, plazas and other surroundings, and enhance convenience for pedestrians. As part of the plan, JR East will participate in the Excite Yokohama Area Management Council, an organisation tasked with managing the area surrounding Yokohama Station, and help improve the attraction of the Yokohama area.
The plan will implement innovative environmental initiatives such as the introduction of energy-saving facilities and the use of renewable energy to inspire and promote environmental awareness.
Spaces providing refuge for stranded visitors and commuters with difficulty getting home will be secured in readiness of earthquakes, tsunamis and other major disasters. JR East will activate those spaces to take in these stranded and held back people in the event of an emergency. (The plan assumes the evacuation of 10,000 stranded and 3,000 held back people.)
A disaster management centre will be established on the second floor of the station-front tower in readiness of flooding and tsunamis. Moreover, JR East will help establish an integrated regional base for disaster preparedness on the third floor of the building in collaboration with the City of Yokohama. This base will enable government authorities and businesses in the surrounding area to assemble for disaster response meetings and other functions in the event of an emergency.
(Source: JR East)
