Architect Kengo Kuma to design new JR Yamanote Line station

East Japan Railway Co (JR East) has announced that its new station on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo will be designed by Kengo Kuma, who was also given the project to design the new National Olympic Stadium.

Earlier this week, JR East released a design overview of the new station, which is the 30th station on the Yamanote Line, and which will be built between Shinagawa and Tamachi stations, Sankei Shimbun reported. The company plans to complete the construction by spring 2020, just in time for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The last station to be added to the Yamanote line loop was Nishi-Nippori in 1971.

According to the overview, the station, which as yet has no name, is to be three stories tall with glass walls and an open ceiling space in the center of the platform. On the first floor will be platforms for the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku Lines, ticket gates and event spaces on the second, and shops and a terrace area on the third.

JR East also aims to carry out necessary maintenance to facilitate transfer to Toei Asakusa Line’s Sengakuji station, located just 300 meters away from the new station.

The area is currently a JR train depot and storage yards. It has been designated as part of a major commercial redevelopment project that began in 2013, which the Tokyo metropolitan government hopes will attract more foreign enterprises to Tokyo due to its proximity to Haneda airport.

By 2024, office high-rises, commercial facilities, and mansions are to be built on the 13 hectares around the new station, transferring the area into a new business hub.