City

Transit Hubs: Nikken Sekkei Research

19 January 2015

The results of the Japanese company’s research dedicated to the development of territories surrounding the transit hubs were recently published in Russian. So what kinds of transit hubs are out there and how should they be organized? Fadi Jabri, one of the Russian edition editors, answered the questions of the Archcouncil of Moscow portal.

In XXI century more than half of the world’s population lives in the cities. Such concentration facilitates the economic development, but contributes to the environmental and social problems such as congestion and deprived areas of the city.

Nikken Sekkei’s experts are positive that the solution to many problems of the fast-growing modern agglomerations can be found in the public transit development. It’s not by coincidence that the published research opens with a quotation from Enrique Peñalosa, famous Mayor of Bogota: “Transport differs from other problems societies face, because it gets worse rather then better with economic development”.

Bogota

Sergey Kuznetsov, Moscow Chief Architect: “Having concentrated on solving its planning problems a quarter-century ago, modern Tokyo can now serve as a perfect example for Moscow of successfully combining sustainable economic growth with high livability. Japanese urban planners have a full array of mechanisms at their disposal, but one of the most efficient ones is still the transport hub. Those hubs enable the city to develop its polycentric structure, making all the districts equally attractive and accessible for the citizens as well as tourists”.

According to the authors of the research, higher density housing around the transport hubs, along with office and retail spaces, is an efficient way of transit integration and land use. High-density housing and mixed-use development create opportunities for livable environment and vibrant public spaces to appear. People who live, work and relax near the hubs are choosing greener transportation and giving up their cars.

Nikken Sekkei

Fadi Jabri (Executive Officer for CIS and Middle East, Nikken Sekkei): “We started working on the book three years ago. The idea was first brought up by Takeshi Nakawake (Executive Director at Nikken Sekkei), who worked on a lot of projects in Tokyo. We published the Japanese edition and later the English one. Then our Chinese partners approached us about yet another edition. After participating in several competitions in Moscow, we noticed that your city has a lot in common with Tokyo, and you could put our experience to good use. That’s how we came up with the decision to publish the Russian edition”.

There are two models of near-hub development presented in the book. The A model describes the highly-integrated development of the territories close to the most important junctions like the cities’ central stations with significant passenger traffic that are surrounded by commercial centers, attracting people interested in shopping and entertainment.

Tokio

The B model describes railway complex and infrastructure development in remote areas. In this case the railway construction and the higher density housing development along the tracks are seen as a single goal.

FJ: “Every hub should be created at an intersection of several lines: metro, railway, preferably bus and taxi routes as well. If there’s a passenger flow, a social infrastructure has to be built, according to the principles of free market. In the residential districts of the capital the existing retail can be reorganized and the land use reassigned. More housing can be built to support the construction of new transit hubs”.

Tokio

In fact, the development of the capital’s central stations follows the same logic. Moscow’s Belorussky, Savelovsky, Rizhsky and other terminals are, of course, listed buildings, but the territories around them, according to Jabri, can be used more rationally. It’s a matter of proper balance and integration.

FJ: “To connect all the buildings on the same level in a barrier-free manner, all the stakeholders and owners should be actively working together. Such integration is good for everyone”.

Токио. Станция Сибуя

FJ: “For instance, I have been to the Delovoy Tsentr station, where a new transit hub is about to be built. From the very beginning every proprietor there had their own ideas about the construction, and now they are trying to connect the existing buildings somehow. Where does this leave us? The parking spots are in the most peculiar locations, where public spaces ought to be. Instead every inch is filled with cars. To get to the business center lobby you have to go through a weird parking garage and random gloomy spaces. I think the initial idea was to create a strong conceptual design and then they simply didn’t have enough time to work out the proper integration of all elements.

Токио. Станция Сибуя

If we take a look at, say, Vykhino metro station, we’ll see that people are pushing and shoving outside to enter the metro station, but at some station in Tokyo, where there are twenty times more people, it’s still possible to stand in the crowd and read a book. Organization is key. The subway complex is a mechanism that allows the passenger flow to pass quickly and efficiently.”

According to Fadi Jabri, in Tokyo railway takes up significant passenger traffic. Twenty years ago the city’s metro was infamous for its white-gloved employees who pushed people into the train cars, but now there’s no need for such extreme measures.

FJ: “What we see in Moscow now is the first generation of stations that are not integrated with anything. The second generation includes the station and the building above it. The new generation, like in Tokyo, means that metro is part of the building. No walls, no barriers: you pass the turnstiles and immediately get to a business center. Nothing like the dark corridors of Manezhnaya: you leave the metro and find yourself in a well-lit open space that you can easily navigate.”

Right now Nikken Sekkei is working on Botanichesky Sad transit hub project in Moscow. According to Fadi Jabri, it is crucial to understand that a transit hub is not an isolated object, but a part of the city’s territory, which lives by certain rules.


Images: mosurbanforum.ru, newsroom.scania.com, edo-tokyo.livejournal.com, ru.wikipedia.org, forum.awd.ru


 

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