The railway commissioned architect Kazuyo Sejima to design the Laview out of several hundred candidates. "One of the reasons we chose her was that she had no experience overseeing train design," said Katsuya Ushitsuka, head of Seibu's vehicle department. The design process began in December 2015.
The train was designed by Kazuyo Sejima with huge passenger windows that can gently blends into the urban and natural landscape. The concept was to develop a new train car that would become the departure point of Seibu Railway for the next 100 years. The 001 series is derived from the reverse of 100, with 00 also signifying many possibilities, or ∞, the symbol for infinity.
The train was designed by Kazuyo Sejima with huge passenger windows that can gently blends into the urban and natural landscape. The concept was to develop a new train car that would become the departure point of Seibu Railway for the next 100 years. The 001 series is derived from the reverse of 100, with 00 also signifying many possibilities, or ∞, the symbol for infinity.
"I was approached to develop a train car concept, as never seen before. This is my first time to design a train and the most obvious difference with building design is that the train can move to different places. This train moves through the Tokyo to the mountains of Chichibu and I thought it would be nice for the train to be able to respond and blend into the surroundings in a soft way. Also, I wanted to make a train which feels like a living room where passengers can freely relax and feel motivated to ride the train everyday."
Architect Kazuyo Sejima
Each train has eight cars, with a total capacity of 422 seats and each passenger window is 135 centimetres by 158 centimetres and the bottom of each pane falls well below the usual point on regular commuter trains, to allow passengers to enjoy "large panoramic views".
Sejima has designed both the design concept, exterior and interior of the carriages. The upholstery for the carriages was designed in collaboration with textile designer Yoko Ando. Each seat has an adjustable headrest and a table within the armrest.
Lighting in the carriages is deliberately soft and indirect from the train's vaulted ceiling. Sejima collaborated with Shozo Toyohisa on the lighting, which adjusts throughout the day to create the most relaxing atmosphere depending on the time of day.
The mirrored exterior was created with an aluminium paint specially developed for the Laview train. The degree of reflection that the exterior surface would offer "was carefully studied to show a new impression of the scenery".
Sejima envisioned a train that could blend into both urban and natural landscapes, epitomized by the 1.5-meter wide spherical window covering the driver's seat.
Since launching in March, Seibu Railway's Laview has already won many fans with its uniquely round front window and silver exterior. Daily occupancy rates for Seibu's express trains have surged 60% to 70% on the year on weekends and 30% to 40% on weekdays as passengers clamor for a ride on the new train. Seibu plans to replace all seven trains that travel the 60 mile track between the two stations with the new trains by the end of 2019.
