Kyoto JR Station
Kyoto, 1990
What is a railway station that is simultaneously a cultural center, a hotel, a convention center, and a department store? What do speed, communication, and modernity have to do with the ancient civilization of Kyoto? What does the small scale of the typical Japanese dwelling or machiya have to do with today’s megablocks? The juxtaposition of function, scale, and historical time in contemporary culture is not a negative phenomenon but belongs to the logic of a new urban society. How, then, could the proposed encounters between disparate activities affect each other positively? How could the juxtaposition of the past and the future influence everyday lives in a constructive and enjoyable manner? How could the alignment of megascale and tatami scale generate a new pleasure in the contemporary city?