Healthy Building Environment Lab

AboutAbout the lab

Buildings that are comfortable to live in and kind to the planet

The Healthy Building Environment Lab theoretically analyzes the movement of heat, mass, and air in cities and buildings, and elucidates the physical phenomena of the built environment.
Building on building physics, the lab works on the design of living environments that excel in energy saving, durability, and well-being, and on the design of building functions that use advanced equipment systems and renewable energy.
Put simply, the lab uses numerical simulation techniques to scientifically design buildings that are comfortable to live in and kind to the global environment.
Because the urban and building environment consists of a human system, a building system, and an equipment system, it is necessary to understand people's physiological and psychological needs, design heat, light, and air passively, and then control them actively with equipment.
The topics covered include passive systems and highly efficient equipment systems for energy saving, the design of living environments and functions in advanced buildings, temperature and humidity control and condensation prevention technologies for highly durable buildings, dynamic prediction and evaluation of the building environment based on coupled analysis of heat, mass, and air movement, and prediction of future energy consumption of cities and buildings and measures against global warming.
The lab also continues its research on developing next-generation, high-performance buildings that combine insulation, heat shielding, airtightness, ventilation, heat collection, heat rejection, heat storage, and humidity control, and on numerically showing how facade design affects a building's thermal environment.
The lab's Assistant Professor analyzes the thermal environment of buildings using future weather data that incorporates climate change due to global warming, and is conducting research that measures the quality of architecture from a well-being perspective, including factors such as greenery, biodiversity, sustainable living, and community.
Another pillar of the lab is developing a thermal environment simulation model using urban information from PLATEAU, the 3D city data, and developing and implementing ThermalOne, a building thermal environment simulation software the lab has nurtured.

ResearchResearch themes

The lab aims to build a discipline of spatial systems that adapts to the regional climate and residents' lifestyles, integrates environmental elements inside and outside buildings with equipment, and improves quality of life with minimal mechanical control. Its research covers zero energy buildings (ZEB), biophilic design, temperature and humidity control to prevent condensation, and prediction of future energy consumption of cities and buildings and measures against global warming. At the center of its analysis is a prediction tool for the building environment that accounts for the coupling of heat, moisture, and air. It calculates a building's temperature, humidity, and thermal load by incorporating geometric calculation of sunlit and shaded areas, repeated reflection and absorption of solar radiation transmitted through windows on indoor surfaces, longwave radiation between surfaces, convective heat transfer and moisture transfer that vary by building element, and airflow between rooms. Using this tool, the lab also carries out comprehensive analysis of highly efficient equipment systems such as micro-cogeneration, desiccant ventilation, and radiant heating and cooling, as well as analysis of temperature and humidity fluctuations in the building envelope, including ventilated cavities and thermal bridges.

VoicesStudent voices

Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.

Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.