Kume Sekkei, Taisei Corporation, and Others Win First Prize in ASHRAE Public Facilities Committee Category
February 10, 2025
New Main Building and Research Building Achieve Net-ZEB
The new main building of the Aichi Prefectural Environmental Research Center/Aichi Prefectural Institute of Public Health/Research Building (Kita-ku, Nagoya), for which Kume Sekkei, Taisei Corporation, and others are responsible for the commissioning (performance verification), has been selected as the top project in the public facilities/operation category of the ASHRAE Technology Award sponsored by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). This is the first time in Japan that a commissioned award has been given solely for this purpose. Performance verification and analysis were carried out from the detailed design stage, and post-completion operational improvements have achieved a "net zero energy building" with an energy saving rate of over 100%.
The province implemented the main building and new research building reconstruction project using the build-to-operate (PFI) method and began operation in the spring of 2019. The building is a 4-story steel structure with a total floor area of 8,147m2. We introduced an extremely efficient heat source system that makes the most of natural energy, including a newly developed thermally driven heat pump with two Genelinks hot water recovery systems and solar thermal collectors. In addition, various energy-saving and energy-generating technologies have been used, including a lighting energy-saving system using natural light and a monocrystalline solar power generation device, and the building has achieved the "Near ZEB" standard within the specified range.
Kume Sekkei was assigned by the prefecture to be responsible for the basic design, detailed design supervision, construction supervision, and performance testing (after detailed design). To ensure independence, a performance testing team separate from the design team was established to carry out performance testing work. The PFI operator, Aichi ZEB Support, is composed of Taisei Corporation, of which Taisei Corporation is responsible for detailed design and construction, and Taisei Yuraku Real Estate is responsible for maintenance. After completion, the ZEB Support Center of the Taisei Group Energy Headquarters (now the Clean Energy and Environmental Business Promotion Headquarters) also participated in related work such as performance verification.
Acceptance meetings and ZEB promotion meetings were held regularly, with the participation of Aichi Prefecture and stakeholders such as designers, builders, operators, and users, and thorough performance inspections and verifications were conducted in each stage in cooperation with Nagoya University. As a result, we were able to produce operating instructions, operation manuals, energy reports, and other documents as needed. During the operation phase, we made efforts to check and reduce energy consumption, and in the third year since the start of operation, primary energy consumption was reduced by 101%, achieving net ZEB.
This is the second consecutive year that Kume Design has won the award, following last year's win by Obihiro Kosei Hospital (Obihiro City, Hokkaido), which was awarded the World's Best Award. "Several unexpected incidents occurred during the test run of the equipment system after completion, so we analyzed various data and made efforts to adjust the actual performance and improve the reproducibility of the simulation model," recalls Yokoyama Daiki, Director of the company's Environmental Technology Headquarters and General Director of the Environmental Planning Center, who led the commissioning process.
He pointed out that as legal regulations regarding energy conservation and decarbonization become increasingly strict in the future, "ZEB will also become mandatory equipment for public facilities, and the more innovative the equipment system, the more important it is to verify its performance." He expressed his joy at receiving the award, saying, "I would be happy if this award leads to a broader movement to introduce its use throughout Japan."
