Slow travel on a tourist train
Johnny Chiu, the founder of J.C. Architecture, has clear memories of February 11, 2019. On that day, the news broke about TRA’s revamped tourist trains, whose design was promptly attacked from all quarters for its dated aesthetics.
A winner of numerous design awards both in Taiwan and overseas who returned from living abroad more than a decade ago, Chiu says that designing trains was a childhood dream of his. Seeing TRA’s predicament, he wrote a letter to members of Taiwan’s design community asking them to lend support. Wu Han-chung, who is known as the “CEO of aesthetics” and is now one of TRA’s design consultants, responded. Two weeks later Chiu was invited to present a proposal about updating the look of the tourist trains that circumnavigate the island.
The trains were unveiled again with an entirely new appearance. On the outside, they have a black and orange color scheme. The black creates a mysteriously distinguished air, while the orange is the traditional color of Taiwan’s Chu-Kuang express trains.
The inside of the cars has also been given a complete makeover. In earlier days, TRA emphasized functionality, with the focus put on sturdiness, safety and fire prevention. To this utilitarian foundation, Chiu applied a robust design ethos, reconsidering even the smallest of details. For instance, the metal grips were upgraded by covering them with artificial leather. The lighting, so often neglected, was originally cold, white and fluorescent. It gave riders the impression that they hadn’t escaped their offices. Chiu changed the color temperature of the lighting to create a warmer, more comfortable atmosphere.
The interior signage was also redesigned to create a uniform look, and messy contrasting lines were streamlined. Take the dining car: Where there had been an unattractive array of appliances of different heights and a tangle of cords, Chiu put all the power cords together into one line, and redesigned the kitchen island as a display case, which is convenient for displaying the fine food on offer, thus encouraging purchases. They even installed a lamp on the counter to create a warmer feel and make the space more inviting.
Chiu shows us a design sketch. “The inspiration came from my recollection of the colors I experienced on a trip on the Alishan Forest Railway.It was like a gust of fall wind blowing through the car, and then time just seemed to stand still, and that sense lingered in the car. So I called it ‘Autumn Breeze.’”
“This is a moving platform without walls that brings the outdoor scenery inside, helping us to rediscover Taiwan.” With Chiu’s design, the interiors of the cars reflect the scenery outside. The window shades, which feature stacks of different colored geometric shapes suggesting mountain ranges, reference the works of the Atayal indigenous textile artist Yuma Taru. The upholstery alternates between blue and gray, echoing the colors of Taiwan’s blue seas and rocky coastlines. “The truth is we haven’t done anything in particular—we’ve simply brought four seasons of scenery inside.”
“With its outside-the-box design approach, the project is reimagining slow travel,” says Chiu. As you move slowly through the land, you reconsider the meaning of travel and diligently experience the scenery, reacquainting yourself with the people around you. “It has turned what had been a negative into something of great beauty and aesthetic sensibility.”
Thanks to the power of design, good old TRA, with its 132 years of history, is reinventing itself and seeking new opportunities. Each train and each station bears witness to the history of Taiwan and offers a sense of Taiwan’s true beauty. Having found the right people to move forward with, TRA is changing its scenery.
The elegantly compact Fuli Station has quickly earned the love of locals and become a new landmark for the town.
Husband-and-wife architects Chang Kuangyi (left) and Chang Chengyu (right), designed Fuli Station. They describe the station, which is nestled unobtrusively amid the scenery of Eastern Taiwan, as an example of “second glance” green architecture.
The lines created by the wooden arches in Chishang Station give the ceiling its own sense of rhythm. The glass façade turns into a canvas for nature as images of trees and clouds play across it.
Designing trains was a childhood dream of Johnny Chiu’s.
To a foundation of functionality, Chiu added design thinking. The alternating blue and gray upholstery recalls the colors of the ocean that surrounds Taiwan, and of its rocky coastline. (photo by Li Guomin, courtesy of J.C. Architecture)
Paying attention to the smallest of details has raised the whole feel of the trains. (photo by Li Guomin, courtesy of J.C. Architecture)
By bringing the outside scenery into the moving platform of the train, the cars’ picture windows help riders rediscover the beauty of Taiwan. (photo by Li Guomin, courtesy of J.C. Architecture)