UIA2011 - What we can do for the future

Efforts are also continuing to reach consensus on common issues that affect the future of humanity, both in developed and developing countries around the world. One month before the Cancun Conference, the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10) was held in Nagoya. All the contracting parties agreed to adopt three resolutions: the ABS Protocol (Nagoya Protocol), the New Strategic Plan (2020 Target), and the Financial Mobilization Plan (to achieve it). This was a declaration of intent by the international community as a whole to tackle environmental issues, and was a major achievement of the conference.

In light of this social situation, we turn our attention to Japan, particularly the construction industry, which we are involved in. It is said that CO2 emissions from the housing and building sector (energy consumption in the residential and commercial sectors) account for one-third of Japan's total CO2 emissions. Because buildings exist for a long period of time, their impact is significant. Today, efforts are being made to control and reduce CO2 emissions from this sector by considering the overall lifecycle of a building, including not only the operation phase but also the manufacturing and disposal stages of construction materials. However, Architectural Design' efforts to reduce energy consumption during the operation phase, particularly during construction, are crucial, as this will clearly result in long-term reductions. Furthermore, the benefits of extending a building's lifespan are enormous, and Architectural Design play a crucial role. Looking at the latest high-performance buildings, for example, various new environmental design and technology proposals are being made, such as seismically isolated apartment complexes and office buildings, the consolidation of facilities such as water supply and drainage systems for easy renewal, and highly flexible buildings based on the skeleton-infill concept. Furthermore, in Japanese office buildings constructed over the past decade or so, we can see numerous innovations to improve the environmental performance of their exterior walls, such as deeply carved louvers to block sunlight, double-skin curtain walls, and the use of high-performance low-E glass. Furthermore, we can see that the appearance of facade has changed significantly compared to the past, thanks to innovations that utilize natural energy, such as natural ventilation. Consideration of environmental performance is even changing the appearance of buildings. The pace of this change is likely to accelerate in the future. As such, Architectural Design designers are now required to have environmental initiatives and a proven track record, and are expected to actively participate. Going forward, this is also expected to have a major impact on the evaluation and selection of Architectural Design.

UIA2011 Tokyo Congress (24th World Congress of Architecture) will be held in Tokyo this September. The congress is open to not only 10,000 architects, students, and people involved in architecture from around the world, but also to the general public. With the theme of "DESIGN2050 - Earth/Environment, Information/Culture, Life/Living," the congress will look ahead to the future in 2050, share the issues the world is currently facing, and think together about how to address those issues. It will be a great opportunity for us as people involved in architecture to reaffirm our role and send a message from us to the whole world. We look forward to great results for the future several decades from now.