Toshiharu Ikaga

A collaborative platform for sustainable building design based on model integration over the internet

Considerable potential exists for reducing life cycle environmental impacts of buildings in Japan. While energy consumption during the operation stage of a buildings lifetime is usually dominant, indirect energy use and pollutant emissions associated with production and disposal of building materials during construction and demolition are significant. For sustainable building design, interactions between the performance and dynamics of the building structure and energy systems must be considered. A collaborative platform based on the distributed object-based modelling environment, DOME, and a set of component models for sustainable building design analysis is presented. Integration examples of the component models to study particular building designs are described.

Forecast of CO2 Emissions from Construction and Operation of Buildings in Japan Up to 2050

abstract It is estimated that a third of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Japan are created from construction and operation of buildings, and the construction industry is largely greatly responsible for this. Based on future population projections, a building floor area equivalent to that of Europe, the floor area of buildings already started, and an input and output analysis, a forecast of buildings-related CO2 emissions has been made up to 2050. If the current situation continues, CO2 emissions for the period 2008-2012 will rise by 15% compared to 1990 levels. On the other hand, if energy conservation measures are taken along with steps to prolong the life of buildings, reducing CO2 emissions by 30% in new construction work and by 15% in renovation work, and if the unit CO2 emission from electricity is reduced by 20% compared to 1990, CO2 emissions could be reduced by 6% over the period 2008-2012 and by 40% by 2050. We also examined the problems faced by the construction industry, making estimates classified by steps taken by the construction industry, steps taken by the power industry, and the year in which counter-measures are launched.