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Taiwan Railways Railcar

J.C. Architecture

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Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
JURY VOTES
Cultural Space
Jana Kleine-Kalmer
Jana Kleine-Kalmer Interior Designer and Artist at Jana Kleine-Kalmer
I like the softly sculpted cavern-l...
5
7
7
4
5.75
Julie Payette
Julie Payette Cofounder and Partner at v2com newswire
5
6
6
5
5.5
Jason Immaraju
Jason Immaraju Creative Director at NVE Experience Agency
6
7
7.5
6.5
6.75
Benoit Florençon
Benoit Florençon Photographer at Benoit Florençon
6
6.5
7.5
6
6.5
Rene Toneman
Rene Toneman Partner and Creative Director at Silo
5
5
5
4
4.75
Dustin Stupp
Dustin Stupp Creative Director at Vave Studio
5
6.5
7
5
5.88
Torquil McIntosh
Torquil McIntosh Cofounder at Sybarite
Tranquil space and good use of mate...
6
6
6
6
6
Eric Tsui
Eric Tsui Founder and Design Director at Kingwoo Strategy and Design
5
6.5
5.5
5
5.5
Rune Ricciardelli
Rune Ricciardelli Creative Director at Visual Display
5
6
6.5
5
5.63
Irene del Valle de la Sen
Irene del Valle de la Sen Studio Director at Roth Architecture
5
6.5
5.5
5.5
5.63
Ben Zhang
Ben Zhang Founder at Shanghai Jielu Decorative Design Engineering
6
7
6.5
6
6.38
Thomas Tse
Thomas Tse Design Director at Inspiration Group
6
6
6.5
5
5.88
Client
Taiwan Railways Administration
Floor area
160 ㎡
Completion
2019
designer
designer

The Moving Beauty In February 2019, when Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) revealed its tourist train design, the nation was in disbelief how our transportation identity could be done with such bad taste. Instead of jumping into the clouds of fierce criticisms, a self-recommend letter with two-week design schedule, opens up an opportunity for a boyish dream to come true. With 132 years of history, the TRA is a collective childhood memory shared by most Taiwanese people. A train journey is like a slow-paced movie. The paddy fields could be golden or green, during different times of the year. Cascading mountain views can be blurry at times, or coming with a hue of blue in grey. The sights outside the window construct our memory of train journeys, creating the “moving beauty.” Refurbishing from trains that are used over 70 years old and infusing with Taiwan’s culture and spirits, we hope to represent Taiwan’s natural, authentic, pristine, humanitarian, and shared memory, to reconstruct the thirteen railcars. Through capturing Taiwan’s local colors and materials, such as orange-red on high mountains in the fall and the pattern of the wet granite from Hualien, we present the design concept of “autumn breeze.” The dyeing and weaving handicraft of the indigenous tribes by the Atayal artist Yuma Taru, help us to further reveal stories beyond the scenic mountains. The exterior maintains the traditional color of orange, as seen in the Chu-Kuang Express, as remembered in our childhood memory. The shade of black covers the exterior generously, waiting to invite passengers to a luxurious visual enjoyment. The late Taiwanese aerial photographer and director Po-Lin Chi taught us how to appreciate Taiwan’s spectacular beauty from the sky; Taiwan Railways Administration shows us how to remember Taiwan’s seasons through riding with the landscapes.