18 Japan Railway & Transport Review 28 • September 2001

New Stations

Feature

Copyright © 2001 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

Stations Help Define Urban Image—Kyoto and Lille-Europe

Corinne Tiry

The main facade of Kyoto Station is a giant sculpture in the city. (JR West) The openness of the main facade of Lille-Europe Station with a TGV standing belowis like an exhibition. (SNCF AP-AREP, D. Boy de la Tour)

The new stations at Kyoto (Japan) and Lille(France) both have direct high-speed railconnections to their respective nationalcapitals (Tokyo, 135 minutes; Paris, 58minutes). The innovative architecturaldesign of both stations is an important andlasting legacy from the 1990s. They haveseveral other things in common: bothwere the result of studies launched in1988; both were opened at about thesame time (1997 for Kyoto Station, 1994for Lille-Europe); and both are based onthe idea that a station should form anintegral part of the city in its own right,even for transit passengers. On the otherhand, the architecture of the two stationsis radically different. This is a reflectionof different decision-making processesand urban visions that were appropriateto each cultural context. Here, I wouldlike to look at the creative processes andmechanisms that gave rise to thesimilarities and differences.

Kyoto: A Custom-made Station

Kyoto Station has been rebuilt a numberof times. It was first built in 1877,completely rebuilt in 1914, and thenrebuilt once again in 1952 to keep up withincreasing rail ridership. The station hasalways been in the same location at the

southern edge of the main part of the city.It now serves as a passenger hub for boththe Keihanshin region (Kyoto–Osaka–Kobe) with its 16.7 million inhabitants,and for the major cities (Tokyo, Nagoya,and Osaka) of the Tokaido axis. Thestation is located on the TokaidoShinkansen, linking Japan’s two largestbusiness centres, Tokyo and Osaka.However, during the 1980s it fell out ofstep with the modernization envisaged forthe Kansai region.This obsolescence was placed in relief bysome ambitious plans for transportinfrastructure in the region. The newKansai International Airport being built onan artificial island in nearby Osaka Baywas projected to open in 1993, whilevarious cities in Keihanna region (avigorous technical-industrial centre inKyoto, Osaka and Nara area) were to belinked at the beginning of the 21st centuryby new high-speed railway lines. At thetime, these major projects prompted localdecision-makers and Japanese NationalRailways (JR West since 1987) to bring theo n g o i n g p r o c e s s o f r e g i o n a lmodernization and internationalization toKyoto as well. This was all the moreimportant because Kyoto (Japan’s ancientcapital periodically from 794 to 1867) hadparticipated to some extent in theindustrial and financial prosperity of the

region, but was being increasinglymarginalized by the growing economiesof its neighbours, Osaka and Kobe. FewTokyo companies have offices in Kyoto,but some 40 million tourists visit it eachyear. In many cases, their first impressionof Kyoto is formed at the train station.A task force (composed of representativesfrom the city, prefecture, Chamber ofCommerce and Industry, and JR West)organized an international competition forthe design of a new station for Kyoto. Thewinner, the Japanese architect HiroshiHara, was announced in 1991. This typeof competition is uncommon in Japan andshows how much was at stake in thisambitious project.The competition organizers had threegoals: (1) to revitalize the publict r a n s p o r t a t i o n s y s t e m ; ( 2 ) t oaccommodate tourism more smoothly;and (3) to reinvigorate the local urbanarea. Just as Osaka was promoting theKansai International Airport project as away of re-establishing itself as aninternational economic centre (havingfallen behind Tokyo’s overwhelmingeconomic strength), Kyoto decided to useits remarkable station project to reaffirmits identity not only as the centre ofJapanese culture but also as Japan’s majortourism destination. The enhanced roleof the new Kyoto Station shows how

19Japan Railway & Transport Review 28 • September 2001Copyright © 2001 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

Shaped like a valley, the interior space of KyotoStation creates a recreational landscape.

(Author)

On the upper level, a free space is devoted towatching Kyoto’s unique cityscape.

(Author)

After crossing the Kyoto Station hall, consumersbecome passengers as they finally discover therailway tracks. (Author)

important these considerations were, andis indicative of the diversification policythat the new JR companies werepromoting throughout Japan at the time.The wide variety of components makingup the s t a t ion bu i ld ing—ho te l ,department store, shopping mall (withboutiques, cafés and restaurants),cinemas, museum, exhibition venues,offices for prefectural governmentservices, parking lots—and the hugesurface area (238,000 m2) all show howJapanese station buildings have finally andcompletely evolved from the postwarmindset. With very few exceptions,station design in Japan has focused onsimply twinning a station with adepartment store. At Kyoto, newfunctions, both commercial and symbolic,have permitted the station to act as aregional airport gateway (one can evencheck-in baggage for Kansai InternationalAirport), and to become an identifiablemetropolitan symbol, thanks to the uniquedesign of its famous architect. The intentwas obviously to make the station into anattractive showcase for the city.

Hara’s rectangular structure is monolithicand monumental. It is inward-looking,although it offers several views of the city.The building’s numerous functions areaccommodated within its 16 floors, ofwhich three are below ground. With itsvalley-like hollow space, the stationbuilding creates an artificial interiorlandscape that is open to the sky. This isnot unlike the Kyoto cityscape, where theatmosphere is defined by a plateausurrounded by mountains and sky. Thebuilding’s composite spatial layoutlikewise reminds us of the complexity ofmajor Japanese cityscapes: verticaldimensions, interlocking networks,fluidity of space, and discontinuities ofscale. The vocabulary for the differentfeatures call to mind both the country andthe city—promenade, grand staircase,square, gateway, etc. In a vast collage,l ike a theme park re f lec t ing aninternational city, Kyoto Station juxtaposescommonly known, but often foreign,components: the atrium of Americanmalls, the traditional public space of

western cities, and the transportation hubof Japan. The possibility of moving aroundwithin this space without seeing orcoming into actual contact with therailway functions clearly reveals thatKyoto Station was built, first and foremost,with the consumer in mind. Here theconsumer is invited not merely to spendmoney, but to enjoy a rich spatial sensoryexperience as well. Hara expressed it bestsaying, ‘Simply put, the new Kyoto Stationis in a way sub-culture—culture foreveryone! Popular architecture ....’

Lille-Europe: A Station from aMold

Unlike Kyoto, where the railway stationhas been reconstructed periodically at thesame location, Lille chose to buildelsewhere. Lille-Europe Station wasconstructed about 500 m from the oldstation, which is still in operation. Itspurpose was specifically to accommodatethe high-speed TGV trains running onnorthern Europe’s railway network. The

20 Japan Railway & Transport Review 28 • September 2001

New Stations

Copyright © 2001 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

Open to the city, the upper floor of Lille-Europe Station floats between the curvedroof and glazed walls. (D. Rapaich)

On the lower level, the railway platforms offer a wide view through the urban publicspace and the city of Lille. (SNCF AP-AREP, D. Boy de la Tour)

Lower and upper access to Lille-Europe Station create a dynamic event across the linear transparent window.(Author)

Mayor, thanks to his position as PrimeMinister at that time, convinced FrenchNational Railways (SNCF) to relocate thestation in order to promote developmentof a new business centre around the TGVstation by taking advantage of economicactivity created by the new train system(JRTR 20, pp. 44–49). The station designwas entrusted to the Agence des Gares,the study and project management officeof the SNCF, with most responsibilitygoing to the architect Jean-MarieDuthilleul. The project was part of a

national series of railway projectscompleted in 1994, including stations atRoissy-Charles de Gaulle and Lyon-Satolas. All these stations belong to thesame architectural group with designcharacteristics regulated by charter in aprecise, top-down manner by the Agencedes Gares. The charter gives mandatoryconstruction rules (clarity in spatialorganization, homogeneity of roof surface,great visual depths, etc.) and aestheticrules (such as exclusive use of certainmaterials, including metals, light-coloured

concrete, wood and glass). These rulesensure that each building harmonizes withthe features of the specific location inFrance.Without a doubt, the main feature of Lille-Europe Station is its open perspective onthe city. Architects at Agence des Garesdesigned the building as a long, three-level balcony looking out over the cityprotected by high glass walls and coveredwith a great wave-like expanse of metal,interestingly called ‘the flying carpet.’Unlike Kyoto Station, both passengers andpassers-by are in almost constant visualcontact with the running trains at thelowest level of the structure in an openframework of concrete. Rem Koolhaas,the Dutch architect who planned theadjoining Euralille business district,suggested that the moving trains shouldbe on view because he wanted each TGVarrival to be a memorable event. Startingwith this masterful idea, SNCF architectsreinforced it by designing a linear, fluid,bright and open space, ‘Like a real street,in order to make the train an everydayexperience.’ explains Duthilleul.Before the TGV came to Lille, the city wasnot a tourist destination. Its formerdependence on industry, especiallytextiles, is only part of its history, which isactually quite varied. In the midst ofeconomic restructuring after a long

21Japan Railway & Transport Review 28 • September 2001Copyright © 2001 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

Emerging from the railway tracks, the Kyoto Station building is a massive and opaque volume containing attractivecommercial activities. (Author)

Like a sign, the curved roof section gives a strong identity to Lille-Europe Station and Euralille, the new urbandevelopment area. (Author)

Corinne Tiry

Ms Tiry is a French architect and researcher. She attended Kyoto University from 1994 to 1996 as a

research worker on a scholarship from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.

She then received an AFAA grant from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to study in Tokyo as a

freelance architect-researcher from 1996 to 1997. She has written several articles about Japanese

cities for specialist magazines (including JRTR 13 and 20), and is the author of Learning from Three

Tokyo Stations, 1997–2000 (CD-ROM format; http://tenplusone.inax.co.jp/index.html). She is a current

member of the research team AVH (Architecture, Ville, Histoire) at Lille Ecole d’Architecture.

downturn in the 1970s, Lille chose toregain its former economic vitality byemphasizing tertiary industries. Tourismbecame one of these industries, but not amajor one. However, the 1982 agreementbetween France and Britain brought high-speed trains through the Channel Tunnelto Lille, making it possible to base aneconomic strategy primarily on the TGVlink. Situated at the crossroads of rapidlyaccessible capitals—Paris (and RoissyAirport), London and Brussels—Lillewelcomes many tourists today.The design of Lille-Europe is based on aFrench serial pattern. The architecture,the first image visitors have whendisembarking, announces that they are onFrench soil, rather than that they are inLille or at a European crossroads. Evenso, the view of the city from the stationmakes it clear to tourists that they are onthe flat plains of the north, not anotherFrench city like Lyon or Marseille.

The Station As New UrbanMagnet

Thanks to their innovative architecturalstyles, the Kyoto and Lille-Europe stationseach create a distinct urban image. TheJapanese station gives greater impact tothe city’s image and helps integrate Kyotointo the greater metropolitan region. TheFrench station has given new vigor toLille’s image, while at the same timeintegrating the city into the nationalnetwork of railways and airports.However, in both cases, it is important tonote that the stations were constructedbecause of trans-border factors—Kansai’sinternational airport and the ChannelTunnel. The stations’ architecturalgrandeur, in both a concrete and asymbolic sense, comes from local andglobal forces. The stations thus representwhat we could call an urban magnet thatattracts many people. �