Given the characteristic position and circulation system of this train in Taiwan, in which the ocean is always on the same side and the mountain is on the opposite side, J.C. Architecture designed the entire project taking into account the opening to the sea or the vision of the mountains, proposing an asymmetric design throughout the project that brings the vision of the wood closer to the windows that overlook the mountain and generating a more neutral vision towards the ocean.
The moving kitchen restaurant by J.C. Architecture. Photograph by Kuomin Lee.
The moving kitchen restaurant by J.C. Architecture. Photograph by Kuomin Lee.
Project description by J.C. Architecture
In Feb 2019, the Taiwanese society criticized heavily an expensive yet unsightly new tourism train. For us, JC Architecture, instead of complaining, we wrote an open letter with encouragement and positivity to tell the Taiwanese society that Taiwanese designers can make a change. It led us to the opportunity to design Taiwan’s first-ever tourist train, “The Future,” eventually awarded the Japanese Good Design Award.
Recently, JC Architecture reimagined everyone’s impression of a train, building the first railway kitchen in Taiwan, named “The Moving Kitchen.” Its logo, “R,” stands for “Restaurant, Railway, Reimagination,” we want to create a language that connects the culture but also brings excitement with a new experience.
“The Moving Kitchen” is a 54-person seating restaurant that travels, including a full-size kitchen, bars, lounges, two-seater, and four-seater dining arrangements. Instead of buying a new train from foreign train design companies, the Taiwan Railway Administration allowed us to take the courage of using 70-year-old railcars, to refurbish the old heritage with new programmatic possibilities.
However, moving a restaurant onto the old train has its challenges, such as boosting three times the power to fit cooking requirements or redesigning the fixed chairs so getting in and out is comfortable. Besides, we took care to redesign the lighting system, highlighting the food, as well as complementing the scenery outside throughout the journey. A playable metallic sculptural light is also inserted into the train to create a floral sensation in the dining experience.
The moving kitchen restaurant by J.C. Architecture. Photograph by Kuomin Lee.
Unable to alter any train structural profile or insert beautiful skylight windows, through research, we noticed the unique character of trains in Taiwan. That is the train always travels the island with the mountain on the right side, and the ocean on the left side. To reflect on the beauty of both views, we created an asymmetrical ceiling design, to open the window bigger with black frames on the ocean side, while using the natural wood element to compliment the mountainside. With the same asymmetric design, we concentrated lighting, air-conditioning, and speaker system, into a single profile line, which also acts as a guide path to lead passengers throughout the train.
“We want to create the unique railway dining that you can only experience in Taiwan,” said the founder Johnny Chiu. We believe that it is for the first time in the 132-year-old Taiwan Railways Administration history, a new self-identity emerged to bring confidence and hope to an outdated 15,000-people company, and revive the conventional railway with innovative design policies on a national level.
