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Located in Nagoya city in Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya Zokei University has a total GFA of 20,917m2 with four storeys above ground and a basement. It houses a wide variety of facilities, including a main arena, a library, a gallery, 13 types of specific classrooms and a huge studio on the fourth floor, providing a creative, diverse and sustainable learning space for students and staff.
The university also has a centre art street that passes through the building and features a large roof, offering a semi-outdoor space to the local community, which encourages social interaction through art.
By providing structural and MEP services for this project, we have helped achieve an iconic, resilient and sustainable design, creating a prominent base for future cultural and art development in Central Japan.
Project Summary
104x104m studio
40msteel truss
300pieces lattice wall
The art street and small shops are interconnected by stairs and bridges, creating a unique 3D street. © Shigeru Ohno
A robust structure atop a station
The university building sits above Meijo Koen Station on the Nagoya Municipal Subway which has a limited loadbearing capacity. To avoid putting the load to the upper part of the station, we adopted a 40m long cross-layer steel truss to realise a huge 104m x 104m studio on the fourth floor of the building, which is supported by four cores, to realise the one-room studio space.
Iconic lattice seismic walls
The architectural plan posed difficulties to placing the reinforced concrete (RC) seismic walls inside each core. To ensure the seismic performance, we adopted the highly transparent, earthquake-resistant outframe hybrid lattice walls to connect the foundation and the fourth floor, which has a large ratio of building mass and horizontal forces.
By wrapping each core with lattice walls, we minimised the required seismic walls for the interior space and enhanced sustainability.
The outdoor terrace on the fourth floor can be used as an open studio. © Shigeru Ohno
A comfortable and energy-efficient environment
The lattice walls are not only an important design and structural element, they also reduce direct sunlight into the interior and allow natural ventilation along with the protruding balcony on the fourth floor, alleviating the load of the building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system.
Apart from the lattice walls, we have covered the studio, which is around 6,000m2, with a floor cooling and heating radiation system that controls the floor surface and room temperature. This has lowered the overall energy consumption while improving indoor thermal comfort.
Effective operation management
In terms of management, the electrical system operates separately in different floors and areas of the building including special rooms of each department. Data and performance of equipment such as lighting, HVAC, ventilation, hot water and power outlets are also individually monitored.
By introducing the building energy management system, we are able to reduce energy waste by 10% and facilitate more effective facility management.
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