INSIGHTS

2019.01.31

R&D DISCUSSION Vol. 05

The centripetal force of a single sketch that depicts a scene from the future [Part 1]

Tetsuo Fukuda Industrial Designer

R&D DISCUSSION TOP

Q: As an industrial designer who has been involved in design in a variety of fields, how do you perceive "design"?

A: I think design is about "thinking about life." I started my career as a car designer, and just as pioneering industrial designer Raymond Loewy said, "from lipstick to locomotives," I have been involved in designing "from rings to bullet trains." What I have always thought about is "enriching life through the creation of beautiful and attractive things."

This is my own interpretation, but I believe that design is project management that crosses and integrates the scientific engineering field and the artistic sensibility field, and can be said to be "engineering x styling = concept" [Figure 1]. Let's think about this from the perspective of the words "safety" and "peace of mind." Although safety and peace of mind are sometimes spoken of as synonyms, they have slightly different characteristics. Safety can be quantified and can be achieved by clearing certain standards. On the other hand, peace of mind is a state of mind. The safety of the Shinkansen, a mass of iron that travels at high speed, is guaranteed by calculations, but it needs to be given a "shape" so that passengers can ride it with peace of mind. A sense of security cannot be measured numerically, and can only be felt once safety is guaranteed. I believe that thinking about quantitative things that can be quantified, such as "safety," is an engineering approach, while thinking about qualitative things that cannot be quantified, such as "peace of mind," is a styling approach. Design is about visualizing the concept that is born from the fusion of engineering and styling.

I am mainly involved in styling, and my job is to think of forms that reflect the times, but design is also about thinking about things beyond objects. For example, designing a Shinkansen is about designing the experience of travel while thinking about the vehicle, a means of transportation. When we encounter beautiful and attractive objects and experiences, we feel excited and our hearts are moved. And when we want to cherish them, that feeling gives us energy and gives us a sense of satisfaction. Such things can be used for a long time, so they become long-life designs, and they also overlap with eco-designs that are considerate of the environment. Beautiful, attractive, and cherished designs lead to richer lives and even richer cultures.

[Figure 1] What is design?

Q: The announcement of the new Shinkansen train, the N700S, is creating a lot of buzz.
Could you tell us about the Shinkansen designs you have worked on so far?

A: The Shinkansen was born in 1964. It started with the 0 series, which had a nose shape called a "dumpling nose" and began running in the year of the Tokyo Olympics. I have designed trains since the privatization of the Japanese National Railways in 1987, and the most recent one I was involved in was the Tokaido Shinkansen N700S. This train further reduces noise and lateral shaking compared to the N700 series (2007-), and has an S in its name, which stands for "Supreme." It will begin running in 2020. A feature of the Shinkansen is that with each new generation, it reduces air resistance while improving ride comfort. There are three design keywords.

The first is "wind." High-speed travel creates environmental issues along the line, such as aerodynamic noise and the shaking of the car body due to air currents. Therefore, when designing the 700 series (1999-), nicknamed "platypus," we improved environmental performance and stability by giving the front shape a convex cross section [Figure 2]. We also worked on improving the air conditioning system, which is the wind inside the car. The conventional air outlet was located on the ceiling, but we proposed moving it to under the luggage rack [Figure 3]. This reduced the length of the air duct extending from under the floor to about half of the previous one, reducing air conditioning losses for heating and cooling and optimizing the temperature distribution inside the car. The number of parts was also reduced, which led to weight reduction and a lower center of gravity of the car body, which are advantageous for traveling faster. This air conditioning system is now common, but at the time it was designed completely differently from the conventional type, so complex calculations of air flow and volume were required, and it was only possible to realize it with the cooperation of the project manager and the engineering team.
The second is "sound." Simply being quiet does not necessarily mean that the environment inside a vehicle is comfortable. For example, vibrations at a level that is difficult to feel can overlap and interfere with each other, creating an uncomfortable environment. To create a comfortable space, it is necessary to approach the issue from the perspective of not only noise levels (decibels) but also frequency bands (hertz). Vibrations are being reduced by considering the materials and structure inside the vehicle.
The third is "light." Even if the cross section of the car body is made smaller to reduce air resistance, the optical illusion of light can be used to create a psychologically expansive space without a sense of oppression. The ceiling of the 700 series Green Car is designed to give the impression of depth, about 10 cm, beyond its actual dimensions, through the use of curved surfaces, arched lines, and shadows from indirect lighting [Figure 4]. In fact, ceilings have become lower with each generation, but the design using light has been devised to make this less noticeable.

Also, the difference in the shape of the Shinkansen is determined by the design requirements of each line. When comparing the transportation volume of lines, it is evaluated as "passenger-kilometers (number of passengers x transportation distance)". If you add up the Tokaido Shinkansen and Sanyo Shinkansen, which I am involved in, it accounts for more than 70% of the total transportation volume in Japan [Figure 5]. In other words, a design for 3/4 of all Shinkansen users is required. Even a single seat can make a difference depending on the conditions of each line. Also, many people may have seen the interior of a Shinkansen being cleaned while stopped at Tokyo Station before turning around. In fact, all cleaning must be completed in just 7 minutes. After understanding such conditions, we consider the shape and consider people's movement comprehensively, sometimes in discussion with the cleaning staff. That is the design of the Shinkansen.

[Figure 2] Front end of the 700 series
Form follows function, but form also creates function.
[Figure 3] Conceptual diagram of the 700 series air conditioning system (left) and the evolved N700 series air outlet (right)
Improving air conditioning efficiency has resulted in fewer parts, making the car lighter and lowering the center of gravity.
[Figure 4] Ceiling (left) and aisle design (right) of the 700 series Green Car
The optical illusion transforms a physically limited space into a psychologically expanded space.
[Figure 5] Passenger-kilometers by Shinkansen line operating in Japan (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism / 2016 Railway Transport Statistics Survey)
The necessities of the form depend on the different design requirements of each line.
[Figures 1-5: Provided by Tetsuo Fukuda]
Continued in Part 2

PROFILE

Industrial Designer

Tetsuo Fukuda

Tetsuo Fukuda

Born in Tokyo in 1949. After leaving Nissan Motors, he has been involved in a wide range of design projects, mainly for public transportation and industrial equipment. As a member of the Transportation Design Organization (TDO), he has participated in numerous advanced development projects for Shinkansen trains, including the 300 Series, 700 Series, and N700 Series "Nozomi," as well as the 400 Series "Tsubasa," E2 Series "Asama," E1 Series, and E4 Series "MAX." He is currently a Professor Emeritus at the Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology, a Visiting Professor at Kyoto Seika University, and a part-time lecturer at Nagoya Institute of Technology. He is a Good Design Fellow at the Japan Design Promotion Organization (JDP), a public interest incorporated foundation. His books include "The Work of Designing the Shinkansen" (SB Creative).

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R&D TOP

Update : 2018.09.21

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