Saijo City Hall

This is an environment-friendly government office rooted in the regional characteristics unique to Saijo City. The four characteristic elements of this region are “wood,” cut from the forests that spread at the foot of Mt. Ishizuchi; “water,” as the groundwater that is so abundant that just driving a metal pipe into the ground is enough to bring it gushing out in natural fountains called uchinuki; “wind,” as the predictably stable prevailing wind; and “sunlight,” from the long sunlit hours of the Seto Inland Sea’s climate pattern. Locally-produced timber is used as the wood, for the exterior walls as well as for the interior decor. The “water” is also used as a heat source for air conditioning, and for pre-cooling exterior HVAC equipment. After use in air conditioning, the water is reused as graywater to flush toilets. The “wind” is the natural ventilation secured by using the updraft in the stairwell and the prevailing wind. The “sunlight” is gathered by the equipment that is installed wherever possible on walls and roof, along with timber. Our target is for these efforts to achieve a reduction of 200 t in annual CO₂ emission.