Eco-business / Social Venture

November 30, 2006

 

New Construction Methods for Greening Urban Buildings

Keywords: Eco-business / Social Venture Ecosystems / Biodiversity Non-manufacturing industry 

Amidst growing interest in the idea of dealing with global warming and urban heat islands by greening the roofs and walls of urban buildings, two Japanese companies have introduced new construction methods this fall. Kajima Corp. announced a new system which enables the greening of walls on high-rise buildings, and Asahi Kasei Homes has begun selling green-covered houses in urban plots where space is limited.

On August 28, 2006, Kajima Corp. announced its new Vertical Green System, consisting of a catwalk fixed to the outside wall of a building, with a planter in its base and a three-dimensional lattice attached to its outside edge. Climbing plants can be trained over the lattice, creating a green screen, and because the catwalk is safely enclosed behind the lattice, plants can be easily accessed and tended to, even on high-rise buildings. The construction cost is also about 20 percent lower than for previous systems. Kajima's system has already been installed at a university campus, and there are plans to expand its use into other areas such as highway soundproofing barriers.

On September 1, 2006, Asahi Kasei Homes began selling its Hebel Haus Green Plus houses. The new design takes advantage of the load-bearing capacity of the company's steel-framed, earthquake-resistant Hebel Haus, so that soil-filled stainless steel planters on the roof areas can be used for trees and vegetable gardens. Green screens can also be created by training climbing plants over lattice units with vertical wires fixed to the steel beams and base of the house. These units can be installed on outside walls, windows, terraces, porches and verandas. The company hopes to sell 1,000 houses in the first fiscal year.

http://www.kajima.co.jp/welcome.html
http://www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/asahi/en/index.html

Posted: 2006/11/30 02:54:13 PM
Japanese version

 

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