Design Responses > About Parking Facilities > Case Studies >
Public Realm
Seiyu Kichijoji (Tokyo JP)

A facade hoist cycle storage facility serving Seiyu Department Store, Kichijoji branch, East Tokyo Japan. Parking is provided for up to 340 bikes. Access to the facility is via two gates on the exterior front from street level. Users can only access the system with registered member cards that Seiyu department store issues to their customers in conjunction with a loyalty card scheme. Parking furniture is vertically mounted behind the façade of the department store. The facility is staffed between 1000-2300 by department store staff. Parking is free of charge once a yearly fee of ¥3000 (£15) is paid. Users can park for free for 4 hours. Additional time is charged to the user’s loyalty card; this measure is to prevent customers from overloading the facility.

Provider
Seiyu Department Store, Kichijoji branch, Musashino ward, Tokyo, Japan

Designer / Architect
Koyo-Aiorasu (aeolus)

Cost of provision
Approximately ¥5.5m (£27,000). (excluding building space cost and running costs)

Strengths
• Hanging the bikes from the wall clears valuable floor space
• Solution is a way to use dead space and back alleys of buildings
• Vertical parking like this could also be a sculptural object if installed on a glass-covered box and fitted with lighting or water features

Weaknesses
• The facility only works with Japanese shopper bicycles (mamachari) that use tyres 26 x 1 3/8 (ISO 37-590) and 27 x 1 3/8 (ISO 37-630)
• Other types of tyres (small folding bikes tyres, fat MTB tyres and narrow road racers tyres) will not fit the holding systems and are not eligible for membership

Useful References
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jfakU8vVNFQ
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6z5rH6OjlCI
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=W4Cqivgqlj4
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4T5nYMX2pAk