Japanese train-travel company Seibu Railway hopes to make a major design leap in time for their 100th anniversary; a new line of fast commuter¹ trains that "blend into the landscape."

 

日本铁路公司西武铁道株式会社希望在其成立100周年之际，实现设计上的重大跨越，设计一条能“融入沿途风景”的新型快速市郊往返列车。

 

Seibu’s new trains won’t really be "invisible" so much as "reflective," but a simulated disappearing act is the goal of the project.

 

Kazuyo Sejima, one of Japan’s premier² architects who had apparently³ never penned a train before, has been commissioned to execute the design.

 

Sejima’s accolades⁴ include the coveted⁵ "Pritzker Prize," given to "architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture," according to the outfit⁶ that bestows⁷ it.

 

Sejima’s website suggests she favors minimalism in design, which is certainly true of the new Seibu train concept.

 

"The limited express travels in a variety of different sceneries, from the mountains of Chichibu to the middle of Tokyo, and I thought it would be good if the train could gently co-exist with this variety of scenery," Fast Company Design quotes Sejima from Seibu’s official press release. "I also would like it to be a limited express where large numbers of people can all relax in comfort, in their own way, like a living room, so that they think to themselves ‘I look forward to riding that train again,’" she added.

 

The exterior’s active camouflage⁸ is only vaguely⁹ described as coated with "a semi-reflective surface" by Deezen and other outlets¹⁰. Seems like a shiny vinyl wrap would be the simplest way to pull this off, but we will have to wait until the project progresses to see what Seibu really has in mind.

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