Demachi Yanagi is the terminal station of both the Eizan Electric Railway and the Keihan Line — one above ground, one below. Every day, thousands of commuters, students, tourists, and locals pass through it. Many never stop. This project asks: what would it mean to design a station that people actually want to be in? Not just pass through — but arrive at.
Context
Demachi Yanagi sits at the northern edge of central Kyoto, where the Kamo River and Takano River meet. The station serves as a crossing point between the underground Keihan Line and the above-ground Eizan Railway — but also as a meeting point, a cycling hub, a shortcut, and a neighbourhood anchor. People use it without ever boarding a train. They wait here, buy coffee, lock their bikes, cut through to the river. The station is already more than transport — the design just had not caught up.
Site analysis — people flow mapping around Demachi Yanagi Station
The Challenge
Transit spaces are designed for efficiency. They prioritize movement over experience — and at Demachi Yanagi, this creates three specific problems:
"The space functions as a corridor, not a place."
Understanding the Users
Rather than defining users by demographics, the project maps them by behaviour — how they move, what they need, and where they get stuck:
Knows the station well. Moves on autopilot. Values efficiency. Has no reason to stop — unless something catches their eye.
Arrives without a mental map. Reads the space for cues. Easily disoriented by the split between underground and above-ground levels.
Uses the station as a neighbourhood hub — bikes, coffee, shortcut to the river. Relationship to the space is habitual, not transactional.
These three groups share the same space simultaneously but rarely interact. The design question becomes: how do you create conditions where their paths can cross — naturally, without forcing it?
Design Intent
The project aims to transform Demachi Yanagi from a transit corridor into a layered urban place — one that serves efficiency without sacrificing experience. Three spatial intentions guided every design decision:
Design intent diagram — from corridor to place
Spatial Strategy
間 / The Architecture of Threshold
The design introduces a series of layered platforms and thresholds — spaces that are neither fully inside nor fully outside, neither purely functional nor purely social. These in-between zones are where encounter happens. Circulation was studied carefully: where do different user groups converge? Where do paths cross? The design places moments of spatial interest — a widened landing, a view across levels, a sheltered seat — precisely at those intersections.
Spatial organisation diagram — visibility and interaction zones across levels
Section showing layered platforms and threshold spaces
Axonometric — spatial organisation guiding movement and encounter
出町柳駅の屋根 — The Dynamic Roof
The most distinctive element of the proposal is a kinetic roof structure — designed to make the building itself behave like a living thing. The form is derived from the willow tree (柳) that gives Demachi Yanagi its name: branching, light, in constant motion. The roof uses a W-truss structural system with fractal solar shade panels — triangular modules that open and close automatically in response to climate, temperature, and light conditions. The concept draws on Mandelbrot's definition of fractal geometry: a structure that looks the same at every scale. Like a willow leaf, the roof panel subdivides into smaller versions of itself — creating a canopy that is structurally rigid but visually weightless.
West elevation 1:100 — the dynamic roof structure
Fractal panel system detail — willow-inspired geometry
Rendered interior view — light through the fractal canopy
User Experience in Space
Every spatial decision in this project is a UX decision. The roof is not just structural — it is an orientation device. Its asymmetric form creates a clear sense of direction. The light it filters changes throughout the day, marking time without a clock. The layered floors create a visible relationship between levels — you can see where you are going before you get there. The platforms create moments of pause built into the flow of movement.
Behavioural user journeys — the same space, experienced differently
Process
The design evolved through cycles of site observation, circulation mapping, structural experimentation, and spatial testing. People flow analysis on the site informed the placement of every threshold and platform.
People flow analysis — mapping movement patterns around the station
Early spatial diagrams — exploring circulation and visibility
Structural studies — W-truss and fractal panel iterations
Floor plan studies — ground, second, and third level layouts
Outcome
The final proposal transforms Demachi Yanagi Station into a layered urban environment — one that serves commuters efficiently while giving visitors orientation, and giving locals a reason to stay. The dynamic roof makes the building responsive: it changes with the weather, the season, and the time of day. The station becomes a place that people notice, remember, and return to — not just pass through.
Demachi Yanagi proposal — street level perspective
Reflection
What this project taught me is that every transit space is already a UX problem — it just isn't always framed that way. People are confused, rushed, or isolated not because they lack willpower, but because the space gives them no other option. Designing the roof was the moment I understood that architecture and interaction design are asking the same question: how does this person feel right now, and what does the environment do to help them? That question is what I want to pursue at Malmö — with more tools, more rigour, and more people to think alongside.