ZEB Oriented and the WELL Gold Certification
How We Achieved Both Part 1

In August 2024, WORK VILLA MITOSHIRO, home to the new  , obtained the Gold rank of the   as well as ZEB Oriented *2 (BELS 5☆ *3) in October of the same year.

New technologies are rapidly advancing every day toward the realization of a decarbonized society. In contrast to new construction, which can be designed from zero while freely adopting building materials and equipment that reduce or cut the project’s environmental impact, renovations are subject to various constraints according to the conditions of the existing building. This is why implementing energy-saving measures in a renovation project is said to be more challenging compared to new construction.

How does one minimize the effects of outside temperature and solar radiation? This renovation project, which aimed to utilize the existing framework of the 60-year-old building, obtained the ZEB Oriented (BELS 5-star) certification by enhancing the performance of the building envelope and appropriately integrating high energy-efficient systems, such as automated control technologies.

*1  WELL Certification / A spatial evaluation system developed in 2014 by the U.S.-based company Delos. The international certification system assesses the health and comfort of building and office users.

*2  ZEB / An abbreviation for a “Net-Zero Energy Building”, a building that seeks to achieve a net zero annual primary energy balance while maintaining a comfortable indoor environment. ZEB Oriented applies to buildings with a total floor area of 10,000m² or more that have achieved a 30-40% reduction in primary energy consumption.

*3  BELS / A certification system that evaluates and indicates the energy-efficiency performance of a building. An abbreviation for “Building Energy-efficiency Labeling System”.