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Environmental Materials Lab
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A lab that examines the current state of building materials in order to anticipate what comes next.
AboutAbout the lab
Understanding the condition of materials and predicting their future.
The Environmental Materials Lab examines the condition of materials, focusing on interior and exterior building finishes and reinforced concrete members.
From the constituent materials, the pore structure, and the behavior of water inside a material, the lab evaluates and predicts the material's performance and condition.
The findings are applied to evaluating the durability of buildings and to their maintenance management.
The lab also collaborates with researchers in fields that architecture has not traditionally involved, such as nanotechnology and microbial ecology.
Key terms
- Pore structure
- The shape and size distribution of the fine voids inside a material. It determines how easily water and other substances pass through.
- Moisture content
- The proportion of water contained in a material.
- Microbial community
- A group of microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, that live together in the same place.
NewsLab news
A student received the Annual Paper Encouragement Award from the Japan Concrete Institute
A paper on the soundness evaluation of gypsum boards for ceilings was accepted by the Journal of Structural and Construction Engineering (Transactions of AIJ)
An Assistant Professor received the Encouragement Award of the Japan Concrete Institute Awards
A research paper was accepted by Cement and Concrete Composites
ResearchResearch themes
Focusing on interior and exterior building finishes and reinforced concrete members, the lab evaluates and predicts the performance and condition of materials using information such as constituent materials, pore structure, and the behavior of water inside the material. Working with researchers from other fields, such as nanotechnology and microbial ecology, the lab also develops techniques for measuring information that has been hard to obtain in architecture until now.
*Illustrative imagePredicting the Future Performance of Reinforced Concrete Members
Focusing on concrete and mortar, which are representative building materials, the lab investigates the mechanisms of the various types of deterioration that lower building performance, and develops methods to diagnose and suppress them.
*Illustrative imageSensing Technology for Performance Evaluation
The lab develops sensing technology that automatically detects changes in pH, moisture content, and pore structure as building materials deteriorate, so that deterioration in buildings can be noticed early.
*Illustrative imageDiagnosing Buildings Using Microorganisms
Microorganisms gather in colonies in environments suited to them, so the types, amounts, and composition ratios of the microbial communities living in a building material should reflect the condition of that material. Starting from this idea, the lab is developing diagnostic methods together with microbial ecology researchers.
*Illustrative imageEvaluating Historic Reinforced Concrete Architecture
More than 100 years have passed since reinforced concrete was introduced to Japan, and the number of reinforced concrete buildings regarded as historic structures is growing. To conserve these valuable cultural properties, the lab works to establish techniques for evaluating their present and future performance.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Environmental Materials Lab are faculty, master's and undergraduate students, and research students.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorAtsushi Teramoto
- Assistant ProfessorLuge Cheng
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “FOT9558 Haltepunkt Leipzig Anger-Crottendorf 2024 – Sichtbeton im Treppenaufgang Süd” August Geyler / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Predicting the Future Performance of Reinforced Concrete Members: “Dry Cracked Mud (4957b8b2-f52c-43b0-acc2-ead42cf6f03b)” Andrew Cattoir (Lake Mead National Recreation Area) / Public domain (cropped)
- Sensing Technology for Performance Evaluation: “2023 Stetoskop” Jacek Halicki / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Diagnosing Buildings Using Microorganisms: “Lichen on an ancient wall” Socket0 / CC0 (cropped)
- Evaluating Historic Reinforced Concrete Architecture: “Restoration work Parthenon facade Acropolis Athens Greece” Jebulon / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (建築構法学): “Reinforced concrete rusted rebars german bunkers Pointe du Hoc” Jebulon / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (建築構造学): “NR Dresden Seilnetzkonstruktion einer Sporthalle” Jörg Blobelt / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (
空間構造開発工学): “Three dimensional truss construction Unic Rotarex®” Marius Rotar / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (建築安全制御学): “Earthquake damage in San Francisco's Marina District on the north side of the city from the Loma Prieta Earthquake” Nancy Wong / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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