Colorful Commuting

Every day millions of Tokyo’s citizens wake to a routine that takes them through the infamous Tokyo subway and rail system. For those who pass through the SEIBU Ikebukuro Railway Station, that daily commute to work or school just got a bit more enjoyable.

The Ikebukuro Station is one of the major transportation hubs in Tokyo. Over 2.7 million passengers get on and off trains or subways at the station every day.

A brighter commute
In order to create a better image for both the station and a newly opened café at the station’s main ticket gate, SEIBU Railway Co. Ltd. planned a sophisticated yet comfortable atmospheric lighting scheme aimed at easing passengers’ tedium as they pass through the station. SEIBU Railway Co. worked together with Martin Professional Japan on an idea for a special illumination scheme based on Japan’s four distinct seasons. In a world of concrete and little natural light, why not give passersby an uplifting experience each day by using intelligent color changing luminaires to imitate the beautiful array of color displayed each season?

Alien, Cyclo, and Ego
Seasonal shades are projected onto the station’s ceiling using 36 Cyclo 04 color-changing lights recessed in a series of large rectangular alcoves. The alcoves are surrounded by color projection from 10 Alien O2 and 21 Alien O5 in an ever-changing display.

Fast-paced kaleidoscopic light patterns from three Ego 03 are also incorporated each hour in a special 5-minute light show. The show runs from noon to 10 pm while a more simplified show is presented every 30 minutes. The fixtures are brought to life using Martin’s LightJockey computer-based control package with LJ Scheduler that offers simplicity and ease of programming.

Low trim height
As the concourse is also the first floor of the SEIBU department store, piping permeates the ceiling between the first and second floors, meaning a high trim height was impossible. The ceiling height is a low 2.7 meters for the Alien fixtures and 3.0 meters for the recessed Cyclos, not completely out of reach of passersby. A satisfactory solution was to gather the fixtures as close to the pathway pillars as possible to avoid being hit by people carrying long objects such as large packages or skis. The Alien Driver boxes are located on a custom shelf in the ceiling within reach of maintenance workers.

Crowd control
As Ikebukuro Station is one of Tokyo’s busiest, officials are continually struggling to avoid crowd troubles, especially during rush hour when people are urged to keep moving. Upon careful consideration, the decision was made not to run the light show during the busy morning rush as commuters stopping to watch the 5-minute show could cause serious traffic jams. Consequently, only the Cyclo 04s operate so early, emitting a warm colored light for morning commuters. Moreover, as the station is located near a major department store, SEIBU, lucky shoppers also share in the illumination experience.

Special color schemes
The illumination scheme began operating at the end of May, coinciding with the opening of the cafe. For those commuting daily to work or school, or for people just waiting in the station for a friend, the lighting is a welcome and pleasant distraction. As an added bonus, special color schemes have been programmed into the LJ Scheduler for certain holidays including Christmas, Valentine’s Day and the Star Festival. What´s more, as the SEIBU Group owns a major league baseball team, the SEIBU Lions, they have the possibility to promote special “Lion’s Days” through customized illumination, for example for tournament games, a championship win, or any game day.

Development of the SEIBU Ikebukuro Station installation was completed as a cooperation between SEIBU Railway, SEIBU Construction and Martin Professional Japan with construction and installation completed by SEIBU Construction Co.,Ltd.