Grand Opening of New Osaka Eco-Friendly Station

West Japan Railway Company (JR West), a major Japanese railway company, held the grand opening of Osaka Station City on May 4, 2011, integrating the remodeled Osaka Station with the redeveloped adjacent business complex. JR West has made the new station into an "eco-friendly station" in an effort to be more environmentally friendly.

Osaka Station City consists of a new North Gate building, South Gate building (remodeled 'ACTY Osaka'), and a concourse connecting the North and South buildings. The concourse is covered with a new 180- by 100-meter dome roof.

The eco-station exhibits various environmental technologies. Solar panels were installed on the station platform roof to produce 90,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. The concourse is air-conditioned with Dry Mist (mist spraying), and the dome roof and building roofs collect rainwater for recycled water use. Natural light from the dome roof helps conserve electricity, and a community central heating and air-conditioning system shared with neighboring buildings encourages efficient energy use.

JR West also intends to establish 2,900 square meters of building rooftops and public squares as gardens for 30,000 plants and 90 trees, and to rent out 415 square meters of this garden space to the public as "Tenku no Noen," meaning "Farm in the Sky." With such active planting activities, JR West is promoting a scenic and comfortable public space, while mitigating the "heat island" effect of the city.

Green Roof Planned for New Osaka Station Building (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/030113.html

Posted: 2011/09/06 06:00:15 AM