Seibu Railway, Hanno Station renewal ceremony inspired by "metsa". Local wood and Finnish designer make the station building feel Scandinavian

On March 9, Seibu Railway held an opening ceremony to commemorate the renovation of Hanno Station on the Ikebukuro Line.

At the ceremony, Mr. Hisashi Wakabayashi, President and CEO of Seibu Railway, Mr. Pekka Orpana, Ambassador of the Embassy of Finland in Japan, Mr. Masaru Okubo, Mayor of Hanno City, Saitama Prefecture, and Mr. N.E.O Ark, a designer. attended.

From the left: Mr. Masaru Okubo, Mayor of Hanno City, Saitama Prefecture, Mr. Hisashi Wakabayashi, President of Seibu Railway Co., Ltd., Mr. Pekka Orpana, Embassy of Finland, Ambassador to Japan, Mr. N.E.O Ark, who was in charge of the design of the renewal of Hanno Station What became the opening of the commercial facility "metsa" on the shores of Lake Miyazawa in Hanno City, Saitama Prefecture. Metsa was developed with the aim of ``a place where you can realize the essence of spiritual richness and bring it back to your daily life through experiences in forests and lakes where northern time flows'', and on March 16, Tove Jansson ``Moominvalley Park,'' where you can relive the original Moomin series, will open in it. perfect reproduction”).

Therefore, Seibu Railway positioned Hanno Station as a tourist base, and then renewed it with the aim of raising the expectations and excitement of tourists visiting the area and getting the local residents to feel attached to it.

In this renewal, we adopted a genuine Finnish design and aimed to achieve compatibility with the nature, history, and culture of metsa and Hanno. With the cooperation of the Finnish Embassy, ​​the competition to determine the designer was held for designers in Finland, and Mr. N.E.O Ark was selected as the grand prize.

The concept of the design is "Sykli (cycle)", and it is a design that contrasts the cycle of the natural environment and human movement. This design aims to use the entire space to create an environment where both tourists and local residents can be guided in the direction they want to go.

On the concourse, a curtain ceiling that imitates wood is installed to invite visitors from the platform to the stairs and the concourse, and a bird with a seagull motif is installed to encourage guidance.

The concourse has a curtain ceiling to guide passengers, and a bird with a seagull motif is also hung. The staircase leading to is designed with a "tree" motif. In addition, the 1st and 2nd platforms themselves are in the image of "spring", and the 3rd and 4th platforms are in the image of "summer", and wooden objects are installed.

In addition, the limited express platform is expressed as "winter" with powder snow in the lighting. In addition, in this renewal, "Nishikawa wood", which is a general term for cedar and cypress produced in Hanno City, etc., is used.

Stairs leading to Platforms 1 and 2 are designed with a "reed" motif. Stairs leading to Platforms 3 and 4 are designed with a "tree" motif.・The image of Platform 2, 3 and 4 is "summer", and the limited express platform is "winter". Some of the objects are made from local Nishikawa lumber, and some of them are benches that you can sit on. We were able to create a wonderful station building, which is exactly what we imagined, where you can feel the warmth of Nishikawa timber, which makes full use of our sensibilities.”

Mr. Hisashi Wakabayashi, President of Seibu Railway, who gave a greeting

In addition, "On March 16, when Moominvalley Park opens, we will start operating a new limited express Laview for the first time in 25 years. This is the first railway car designed by the world-famous Kazuyo Sejima, and based on the concept of a car that has never been seen before, Seibu Railway has a novel design that is elaborate on both the interior and exterior. I am proud that it will be a vehicle that will carry the future of the railway. I sincerely hope that many people will ride the new limited express Laview and visit Hanno.” A preview of the 001 series "Laview."