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2011.03.01

Series | Manufacturing Perspective No. 46

UIA2011 - What we can do for the future

Takao Tojyo

Series | Manufacturing Perspective TOP

Efforts are also continuing to reach consensus on common issues that affect the future of humanity, both in developed and developing countries around the world. One month before the Cancun Conference, the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10) was held in Nagoya. All the contracting parties agreed to adopt three resolutions: the ABS Protocol (Nagoya Protocol), the New Strategic Plan (2020 Target), and the Financial Mobilization Plan (to achieve it). This was a declaration of intent by the international community as a whole to tackle environmental issues, and was a major achievement of the conference.

 

In this social situation, let us turn our attention to Japan, especially to architecture, which we are involved in. It is said that CO2 emissions from the housing and building sector (energy consumption in the home and business sector) account for one-third of the total CO2 emissions in Japan, and the impact of buildings is very large because they exist for a long time. Today, efforts are being made to control and reduce CO2 emissions from this sector by considering the LCCO2 of buildings in total, including not only the operation stage but also the construction material manufacturing stage and disposal stage. However, it is important for Architectural Design designers to take measures to control the amount of energy used in the operation stage, especially during construction, and it is self-evident that this will result in long-term reduction effects. Furthermore, the benefits of extending the lifespan are extremely large, and it can be said that Architectural Design have a very large role to play. Looking at the latest high-performance buildings as examples, various new environmental designs and technologies are being proposed, such as apartment buildings and office buildings with seismic isolation structures, the consolidation of facility spaces such as water supply and drainage that are easy to update, and highly flexible buildings with the concept of skeleton infill. Moreover, in Japanese office buildings constructed in the past 10 years or so, we can see many efforts to improve the environmental performance of the exterior walls, such as deeply carved louvers that block sunlight, double-skin curtain walls, and the use of high-performance low-emissivity glass. Furthermore, we can see that the appearance of facade has changed significantly compared to before, thanks to efforts to utilize natural energy such as natural ventilation. Consideration of environmental performance is even changing the appearance of buildings. The speed of this change will likely accelerate in the future. Thus, environmental initiatives and achievements are now essential for Architectural Design, and active involvement is required, but in the future, it is expected that this will have a major impact on the evaluation and selection of Architectural Design.

 

UIA2011 Tokyo Congress (24th World Congress of Architecture) will be held in Tokyo this September. The congress is open to not only 10,000 architects, students, and people involved in architecture from around the world, but also to the general public. With the theme of "DESIGN2050 - Earth/Environment, Information/Culture, Life/Living," the congress will look ahead to the future in 2050, share the issues the world is currently facing, and think together about how to address those issues. It will be a great opportunity for us as people involved in architecture to reaffirm our role and send a message from us to the whole world. We look forward to great results for the future several decades from now.

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Former Executive Vice President and Representative Director Mitsubishi Jisho Design Inc.

Takao Tojyo

Tojo Takao

Update : 2011.03.01

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