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Transport Interchange
Transstation Ozeki Facility
(Tokyo JP)

This facillity has been key in the revitalisation of this unmanned station. Previously train use had been declining in the area. The bike park construction is built on a reclaimed train sidings area, hence the long, narrow form of the installation. It is open, to allow local residents and visitors free access, without the need for staffing but also to act as a focal point of communication as passengers gather and depart from the station. It is a solution intended to be adaptable for the local community who have also used it to host events and as a meeting place among local residents.

The drawn-out length of the shelters also helps to act as a wind barrier between the local housing and the open paddy fields on the other side of the railway track. The bicycle parking area is part of the continuous structure of the building. It also incorporates a parking area for cars and a waiting area for passengers. Security offered by the facility is at a very low level but acceptable for the context. Significantly, the iconic nature of this structure offers an important example of how bicycle parking can be used as a regeneration tool and integrated into a solution that benefits the local environment and community on a wider scale. A user assessment of the provision, undertaken as part of an architecture competition, observes “The facility has contributed much to improving the locale’s image. The construction of the facility has indeed changed the train station and its surrounding environment in a positive manner.”

Provider
Kiyosada Structure Office

Designer / Architect
Shuhei Endo, Aoi Fujioka

Cost of provision
Approx. 38 million Yen (€264,429 EUR), including whole construction of the Transstation Ozeki facility

Strengths
• This facilility has been key in the revitalisation of this unmanned station, in the area where train use had previously been dropping
• It is open, to allow local residents and visitors free access, without the need for staffing but also to act as a focal point of communication as passengers gather and depart from the station
• It is a solution intended to be adaptable for the local community who have also used it to host events and as a meeting place among local residents
• It is a solution that benefits the local environment and community on a wider scale

Weaknesses
• Low bicycle security offered via existing installation/furniture
• Facility not very transferable internationally without increasing the security provision for the cycles, since most cities/cycling cultures experience higher risks of theft than sub-urban Japanese towns
• Further cyclist facilities are not yet offered as a part of the installation, eg bike vending machine, repair service, showers etc

Useful References
www.mwkdesign.com
www2.hawaii.edu