Kashiwanoha-Campus Station

The distinctive horizontally pleated façade of the Kashiwanoha-Campus Station, along Greater Tokyo’s commuter rail line Tsukuba Express, illustrates the interaction of computer modelling and architectural design.

The elevated station’s building envelope has the appearance of white, horizontally pleated fabric, sliced with long openings parallel to the building’s folds. Architect Makoto Sei Watanabe sought to incorporate the idea of “flow” into the building’s façade and he combined his own sketches and a computer algorithm to come up with the façade’s pattern. He made several sketches and entered them into the computer program; the program then drew on the designer’s intention and generated additional drawings. He repeated the process until he was satisfied with the result—a façade that simultaneously illustrates stratified and turbulent flow. The incorporation of nature and science into the design concept fits the station’s location, as it serves two universities well-known for their research in natural science.

The station’s western façade is made of glass-fibre reinforced concrete (GRC) panels (one GRC panel measures 1.8 metres by five metres; the western façade required 162 panels) while the eastern façade is covered with extrusion-moulded cement panels. To minimise maintenance needs, both façades are finished with a self-cleaning coating. The panels, attached to pillars, serve as both the external and interior walls.

The station’s building envelope is a separate entity from its engineering support structure—that is, the station’s platform superstructure is built on top of elevated support and then enclosed by the façade. Keeping the architectural form independent from the engineering elements preserves the platform’s structural integrity; it also reduced construction time and cost and provided more design flexibility.

The station’s concourse and exterior are white to communicate simplicity and serenity. The colour of the station’s name is blue and red, representing safety and energy. Station signs were designed with a blue background for boarding and a yellow background for alighting.

Japanese law requires the train operator to ensure that railways consider the simultaneous development of roads, parks, houses and other urban facilities. The Kashiwa City government, local residents, architects and developers met repeatedly to come up with a solution that fit with everyone’s needs. The conclusion was that the city itself should operate like a university campus. In this environment, the station is more than a transportation facility—it is also a community space with cafes, galleries and other public facilities. –Lily Wang