Japan for Sustainability
Takenaka Corp. has completed a highly energy-efficient office building, called "Ecohouse," along with a factory employing a total of 70 environmental technologies to significantly reduce environmental impact. The building and factory were built for Amino Up Chemical Co. -- which extracts, develops, and manufactures naturally derived substances -- at its head office site in Sapporo, Hokkaido.
By implementing energy conservation measures, employing local production for local consumption, utilizing natural energy sources, and reducing construction byproducts, Takenaka was able to successfully reduce the building's operational carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by roughly 50% compared to an average office building in Hokkaido.
Takenaka did this by utilizing a large amount of local materials produced in Hokkaido for components, such as flooring and exterior walls, to achieve the goal of local production for local consumption. It also utilized a geothermal heating and cooling system, snow-cooling system, waste heat generated in production processes, and a solar power generation system. Landscaping design included maintaining continuity with surrounding natural forests, along with careful consideration for biodiversity and small native creatures, by planting indigenous species like Celtis jessoensis, which provides ideal habitat for caterpillars of Sasakia charonda, Japan's national butterfly.
As a result of these combined efforts, the project earned a Class-S rating, the highest, based on an environmental performance assessment system for buildings called the Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency (CASBEE) Sapporo.
