No_3_March_1969 — Page 27

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OCAKYU DEPARTMENT STORE

STILP

KEIO_LINE

(3

ELEVATORS

COŘKYO DĚ PART

MENT STORE

7

-

SHINJUKU STATION

1

کی چھ

ה שן.

STATION BUILDING

where various kinds of typical Japanese restaurants are provided. In addition Skytown includes conference rooms, a cooking school and a range of shops.

Most dramatic feature of the term- inal building is the futuristic under- ground square and, attached to it, a vast parking lot to service the many terminals.

Construction of the department store, the major unit of the terminal building, confronted the contractors with a number of difficult conditions. In the first place construction work could not obstruct the daily flow of traffic. Consequently almost all of the work on the building was done at night and in the early morning hours.

construction work proceeded simul- taneously on the underground parking lot and the underground square, while to the south the building was closed in by the tracks of the Odakyu Rail- ways. These impossible blocks prevent- ways. These impossible blocks prevent- ed any direct approach of special purpose vehicles to the construction site.

The contractors met this situation with their own patented deep founda- tion process, building the second floor first, then digging out the basement, and finally pilling for the higher floors. Use of the deep foundation techniques resulted in a significantly shorter con- struction time.

The entire construction, which took three years, was carried out under maximum safety precautions. There was not a single injury to the public, and not one incidence of disruption of railway and subway schedules.

The second major challenge was the odd-shaped space for the store, sand- wiched in between existing parts of the terminal building. The eastern end of the store building abutted on an ab- normal curve of the National Railway's The completed structure presents Chuo line tracks, locating the under- an impressive exterior. From the second an impressive exterior. From the second ground outer wall of the building just to the eighth floor the curtain walls five metres off the central line of the

are partially pressed 3mm thick alum- tracks. Above ground, the second floor inium, with aluminium press moulded and over of the department store build-alumite and bronze-toned heat absorb- ing required a protruding outerwall hanging over the tracks.

ing glass. Above the ninth floor 2.5mm aluminium bender processed panels At the western end of the building, make up the curtain wall, with alum-

First basement level

inum natural-coloured mouldings and bronze-toned heat-absorbing glass.

Interior concourse floors are of porcelain tiles in five colours. Columns are of Pakistan travertine and cerastone surface block. The interior walls are surfaced in craft tile, with gypsum board ceilings finished with Nicawool-

spray.

In the department store itself, the floors are surfaced with vinyl asbestos tile. Walls and columns are surfaced in part with Pakistan travertine and in part with mortar with a vinyl paint finish. The store ceilings are plaster board, stipple-finished with emulsion paint.

Eight floors of the department store are completely air-conditioned by a turbo refrigeration unit in the base- ment. Air conditioning from the ninth floor up is accomplished with a coil unit absorption refrigerating machine on the 13th floor and three water tube boilers of 4 tons each, leading to in- dividual floor units.

Transportation within the huge de- partment store complex is provided by 25 escalators, seven customer lifts, three employee lifts, four lifts for employee-cargo loads and three for cargo only.

Far East BUILDER, March 1969

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