EXPERTISE

In the initial stage of a project, or project planning, we organize a review board consisting of academic and industry experts as well as associated workshops, while also analyzing data on site conditions, the surrounding environment and social needs. Throughout the project period we make proposals for solutions most suited to the location and the times, drawing on our wealth of expertise in the areas of urban planning, construction and renovation of stations, commercial facilities and hotels, and ongoing interior supervision.

As the market climate changes along with the times, construction procurement and order placement processes are becoming more complicated and the requirements of project stakeholders more diversified. Against this backdrop, professionals able to support a client by offering specialist insight are indispensable for the successful implementation of projects.

As a design firm belonging to the JR East Group, JRED has executed complicated design and construction supervision projects for stations and station buildings under the challenging condition of close proximity to railroad tracks, from a perspective closely aligned with that of the client (JR East and its group companies). In the process, JRED has developed the competence to assess and prioritize various conditions and to coordinate a host of involved parties.

By using easy-to-understand, fully visualized presentation materials, selecting architectural designers and contractors from the viewpoint of clients, and offering cost management services, our project management service is designed to achieve an optimal solution for each stakeholder and increase benefits to and the satisfaction of all parties involved.

Leveraging the technological capabilities we have acquired through development and urban installation projects at stations and their adjacent areas, JRED offers a one-stop solution to the development of attractive, sustainable urban space by using an integrated and coordinated approach.

A station is the hub of a city and constitutes an integral part of the city’s identity. We believe that stations have a role to play in revitalizing cities as well as being a source of pride for their communities into the future, in addition to their primary role as a transportation node.

The functions required of cities are constantly being updated to include such things as disaster preparedness, carbon neutrality and globalization. Lifestyles of the people who live and work in cities also change with the times. In the area around Takanawa Gateway Station, which opened in 2020, JRED is promoting a unique urban development project that seamlessly combines the station with other urban facilities to accommodate diverse values befitting an international city. JRED has developed urban infrastructure and organically connected individual buildings and spaces, while engaging in consultation with the national and local governments and completing necessary administrative procedures for urban planning.

JRED has engaged in the construction and renovation of around 300 station buildings and the large-scale remodeling of more than 100. Used by an unending stream of hundreds of thousands of passengers each day, stations—as well as the buildings adjacent to them and the commercial facilities located within them—are architectural structures exposed to uniquely heavy use conditions. To update such architecture to accommodate the changing needs of the times, we need to take economic efficiency and rationality into account in the design, such as by creating a construction plan that ensures the continuity of operation of these facilities during the course of the project, while giving the top priority to the safety of users and construction workers.

In addition, stations are subject to legal regulations that are different from those for general buildings.
Station design also needs to address a high level of difficulty in terms of structure as well as electrical and air-conditioning facilities, since consideration must be given to the high voltage currents and communication equipment used to run the trains, and to the structural uniqueness of stations, being semi-outdoor spaces connected to platforms. In light of the public nature of stations, coordination with other urban facilities, such as passageways and station squares, is also important.

Amid the social demand for considering the global environment, it is necessary to promote the renovation of existing buildings and the use of renewable energy, as well as to incorporate seismic reinforcement and barrier-free design to make buildings and spaces sustainable, safe and comfortable for everyone to use. As one initiative to meet this social demand, the JR East Group has adopted Zero Carbon Challenge 2050 with the goal of achieving net-zero CO2 emissions by fiscal 2050. We at JRED have also set a goal of 50% or more of the orders we receive for design and consulting in fiscal 2025 being for zero-energy buildings (ZEBs). Based on our experience in overcoming various challenges, we are committed to architectural design that enhances the social value of stations and many other facilities.

Stations offer increasingly complex functions, and are used by people of all ages and both sexes, as well as those with physical disabilities and tourists from overseas. These people visit stations for various purposes. Guide signs complement architectural designs in a way that enables any and all users to reach their destinations intuitively. JRED has an in-house signage design department that plans guide signs that are appropriate for the location and purpose in collaboration with our architectural design team.

The department is also tasked with graphic design for station name signboards that highlights the unique characteristics of each train line, and for signage within the station premises, as well as product design for train cars. In addition to our emphasis on functionality, we aim to produce design work that is accessible and aesthetically pleasing to users.

Supervision is a task performed by architects, who communicate with clients, operators and contractors during the construction phase, verify that the work is being executed in line with design drawings, and conduct inspections to confirm that the required quality is maintained.

In recent years, there have been many projects with long construction periods, such as large-scale complex developments involving train stations, in which supervision has become even more important in order to meticulously meet the needs of clients, which evolve and change as the project progresses.

Whenever we are involved in construction of a new building or retrofitting of stations and renovation of an existing building, we take into account on-site conditions and choose the right options based on our many years of experience and technical prowess in quality control of railway architecture, with the aim of realizing a client’s requirements.

Building information modeling (BIM) and 3D modeling are now essential tools in design. We create VR, AR and 3D models from BIM models at each of the planning and design phases to provide clients with a visual image of the architecture so that we can swiftly deliver a design that meets their needs. JRED has a department that specializes in digital design such as BIM, and has created 3D libraries (materials for BIM) and established other systems to support designers.

In the renovation design of existing buildings, we incorporate the 3D survey data on the actual site conditions into a BIM model to quickly and accurately work out designs.

In addition, the tools enable us to simulate the indoor environment, such as air flows and temperature distributions, and visualize and verify the effects of design innovations. Therefore, we are able to plan a design for a comfortable environment in a rational and economical manner.