Abstract
JR East Company and Takenaka Coporation has developed the world's first suspended vibration and seismic isolation system. This system utilizes the space beneath railway viaduct, dramatically reduces train noise vibration and earthquake movement, and maintains or enhances the earthquake resistance of overhead railway bridges. Completion in February 2004 of the Hotel Dream Gate Maihama beneath overhead lines at JR East Maihama Station marks the system's first practical application. The system suspends the building from an overhead railway bridge using suspension materials of differing vibration properties, thus capitalizing on the interconnected damping effect by which the different materials cancel out each other's vibration to maintain and enhance the earthquake resistance of the overhead bridge. The technique paves the way for new development projects utilizing space under railway lines and will enhance asset values while contributing enormously to the revitalization of Japan's cities.
