ARCHITECTUREJAPAN
Exterior of the Kyoto Station Building

Stations · Commercial · Contemporary

Kyoto Station Building京都駅ビル

Location
Kyoto Prefecture Kyoto (Shimogyō Ward)
Opened
1997

Photo: 663highland, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

02

Overview

A concourse that opens like a valley. A modern great hall at the gateway to the ancient capital.

Built as one of the projects commemorating the 1,200th anniversary of the founding of Heian-kyō, it was designed by Hiroshi Hara following an international competition, and opened in 1997.

At the centre of the long east–west building is a vast concourse under a glass roof, flanked by grand stairways and elevated walkways. It is known as a building that redefined the station as an urban plaza.

This description has been translated from the Japanese original.

03

Data

Only verified information is shown.

Opened
1997
Architect
Hiroshi Hara
Use
Station, retail, hotel
Location
Higashi-Shiokōjichō, Karasuma-dōri Shiokōji-sagaru, Shimogyō Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture
Category
StationsCommercialContemporary ArchitectureKyoto

05

Architect

Hiroshi Hara

Hiroshi Hara

Born in 1936 in Kanagawa Prefecture. He taught for many years at the University of Tokyo and developed his own architectural theory based on surveys of settlements around the world.

With the Kyoto Station Building, treating a vast concourse and grand stairway as an urban plaza, and the Umeda Sky Building, linking two towers with a Floating Garden, he re-examined the relationship between city and architecture.

Umeda Sky BuildingProfile

06

Location

Higashi-Shiokōjichō, Karasuma-dōri Shiokōji-sagaru, Shimogyō Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture

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08

Sources

References

09

Photo Credits

Image sources, authors and licences

  • 01130609 Kyoto Station Kyoto Japan03s3.jpg

    Photo: 663highland

    CC BY-SA 4.0·CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike)·Wikimedia Commons

  • 02Kyoto Station building, Kyoto, 20240820 1400 5108.jpg

    Photo: Jakub Hałun

    CC BY 4.0·CC BY (Attribution)·Wikimedia Commons

  • 03Kyoto Station building, Kyoto, 20240820 1407 5118.jpg

    Photo: Jakub Hałun

    CC BY 4.0·CC BY (Attribution)·Wikimedia Commons

  • 04Post office and Kyoto Station building in Kyoto, Japan (2019) - 279.jpg

    Photo: Another Believer

    CC BY-SA 4.0·CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike)·Wikimedia Commons

  • 05Kyoto Station Building.jpg

    Photo: ZhengZhou

    CC BY-SA 3.0·CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike)·Wikimedia Commons

  • Photos have been resized and colour-graded for consistent display. Adapted CC BY-SA photos may be reused under the same licence terms.