Award History

The University of Osaka and Nippon Foundation Center for Infectious Disease Education and Research on the Suita Campus receive Osaka Environmentally Friendly Architecture Award

The University of Osaka and Nippon Foundation Center for Infectious Disease Education and Research on the Suita Campus, which was completed in February 2025, has been awarded the 2025 Osaka Environmentally Friendly Architecture Award (Commercial Facilities and Other Category Award). The University of Osaka and Nippon Foundation Center for Infectious Disease Education and Research on the Suita Campus, which was completed in February 2025, has been awarded the 2025 Osaka Environmentally Friendly Architecture Award (Commercial Facilities and Other Category Award).
The building was highly evaluated for its distinctive elliptical form inspired by “Spaceship Earth”; for adopting a seismic isolation system to ensure that research activities can continue uninterrupted even in the event of disasters; for incorporating peripheral ring balconies to accommodate facility infrastructure; and for creating a characteristic façade through the use of aluminum louvers designed to provide solar shading. In addition, through the introduction of various energy-saving technologies, the building achieved a BEI value of 0.45 and became the first newly constructed research building with a total floor area exceeding 10,000 m² at a national university in Japan to obtain ZEB Ready certification.
The University Osaka will continue to enhance its facilities with consideration for creating sustainable campuses.

The university is the first national university in Japan to obtain ZEB Ready certification for a newly constructed research building with a total floor area exceeding 10,000 m²

• By adopting various energy-saving technologies, it has achieved a 55% reduction in energy consumption from the standard primary energy consumption amount. The university is the first national university in Japan to obtain ZEB Ready certification for a newly constructed research building with a total floor area exceeding 10,000 m².
• To reduce the building envelope load, 100-stage aluminum die-cast louvers are used for sun shading, and Low-E glasses are used for either sun shading or sun gain depending on the direction, ensuring a BPI of 0.80.
• By adopting energy-saving technologies such as highly efficient air conditioners, optimizing the outside air volume, and LED lighting, it achieved a BEI of 0.45 and a lifecycle CO2 reduction rate of 63%.
• Analyze the energy consumption of buildings after the building becomes operational and provide energy support by making operational suggestions to promote further energy efficiency.

Development of a robust and interoperable world-class research infrastructure

• To prevent research activities from being interrupted in the event of a disaster, the facility is equipped with a seismic isolation structure and an emergency generator that can operate for 72 hours.
• The inside of the building uses flat slabs without concrete beams, and ring balconies that allow for movement around the perimeter of the building has been installed, ensuring flexible equipment infrastructure routes both horizontally and vertically. Furthermore, in order to adapt flexibly to changes in the research environment, 3m-modules were adopted and earthquake-resistant walls were eliminated except for the core area, allowing for flexible changes to partitions in the future.
• As an international research facility, it is designed to be inclusive and diverse, including all-gender restrooms (AGWC) and meeting standards for barrier-free access.

International experts from diverse areas collaborate under one roof to generate and apply integrated knowledge

• The entrance, where people are welcomed by a two-story open-ceiling wall of exposed concrete, is suitable for a variety of uses, including disseminating information, interacting before and after seminars, and hosting events. In addition, the two halls adjacent to the entrance have glass curtain walls to create a sense of transparency, allowing for continuous views of the greenery outside through the groundcover plants that cover the pilotis.
• In order to confront the various infectious disease facing modern society, a three-story co-creation space (CO-CREATION DECK) has been located on the south side of the 7th to 9th floors as a place where experts from different fields can come together to generate and apply integrated knowledge in both peacetime and emergencies. The stage-like space, with a split-floor design reminiscent of a ship's deck, can be used for a variety of purposes, including meetings and presentations. The open space, with a 180-degree view of Expo'70 Commemorative Park, will inspire researchers and encourage innovation. The three-story atrium on the south side uses floor and ceiling outlets, and simulations have confirmed that it efficiently air-conditions the living area.

Minoh Campus's Research and Education Hub receives 38th SHASE Promotion Award Technology Promotion Award

The Research and Education on Osaka University's Minoh Campus won the 38th SHASE* Promotion Award Technology Promotion Award for its environmentally friendly endeavors.

SHASE: The Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning and Sanitary Engineers of Japan

Research and Education Hub

Award Ceremony

In order to promote air-conditioning and sanitary engineering industry and develop new researchers and engineers, the SHASE Promotion Award recognizes contributions and accomplishments in planning, designing, and construction of equipment and facilities.

Environmentally-friendly endeavors at the Research and Education Hub were highly evaluated for this award. These endeavors saw designers, builders, architects, and researchers create a joint research field from the building's design stage, and following its completion, the group conducted research on optimal energy management, intellectual productivity, and comfort in cooperation with industry while verifying the effects of their efforts in detail.

The Technology Promotion Award was given to Professor YAMANAKA Toshio (now Professor Emeritus) of the Division of Global Architecture, Graduate School of Engineering, Professor SHIMODA Yoshiyuki of the Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, and Associate Professor SUZUKI Tomohiro of the Campus Sustainability Office for their efforts in planning and verification.

For more information, please visit the website for the Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning and Sanitary Engineers of Japan by clicking here. (link in Japanese)

Minoh Campus's Research and Education Hub receives 64th Building Contractors Society (BCS) Award

The Research and Education on Osaka University's Minoh Campus won the 64th BCS Award from the Japan Federation of Construction Contractors (JFCC), which recognizes outstanding architectural design in Japan.

Research and Education Hub

Winners of the 64th BCS Prize and 4th Civil Engineering Prize at the JFCC Awards 2023

(From left) Mr. MIYAMOTO Yoichi (Chairman, JFCC), Executive Vice President TANAKA Manabu

What is the BCS Prize?

The BCS Prize was established in 1960 on the initiative of Mr. Touemon Takenaka, the first director of the Building Contractors Association (BCS), based on the idea that "Creation of an excellent building requires mutual understanding and cooperation among the client, the architect, and the builder, construction techniques to realize design being essential." The prize has been awarded annually to superior domestic buildings ever since to create building assets and to contribute to the development of culture and global environmental protection.

Source: https://www.nikkenren.com/kenchiku/bcs/en/

Reason for selection to receive the 64th BCS Prize

The Research and Education Hub creates seamless connections with the surrounding community by blurring the lines between them, becoming a sustainable campus open to the public, and embodying the university’s motto, 'Live Locally, Grow Globally.' The Research and Education Hub represents the weaving of the past and the future through its external brace beams that express the remnants of old Minoh, which was known as a textile town.

The 64th BCS Prize received a total of 74 nominations from all around Japan, including those for educational facilities (14, the most of any category), offices (12), complexes (11), government offices (7), hotels (6), theaters (4), commercial facilities (3), welfare facilities (3), art museums (2), sport facilities (2), hospitals/medical facilities (2), factories (2), residences (1), training facilities (1), and research facilities (1).

Shortlisted candidates selected by a 12-member selection committee were assessed through on-site inspection by the selection committee and evaluation by specialty by academic experts

Facility overview of the Research and Education Hub

• Address: 3-5-10 Semba Higashi, Minoh City, Osaka
• Owner: Osaka University
• Design: Nikken Sekkei, Ltd.
• Design Supervision: Campus Sustainability Office, Osaka University/Department of Facilities, Osaka University
• Construction: mainly Shimizu Corporation, Yondenko Corporation (electrical), Sanken Setsubi Kogyo Co., Ltd. (air conditioning, sanitation)
• Construction Supervision: mainly by Department of Facilities and Osaka University and partly by Nikken Sekkei Ltd.
• Design Period: January 2017~October 2018
• Construction Period: November 2018~December 2020
• Lot Area: 5,999㎡
• Building Area: 4,338㎡
• Total Floor Area: 24,8964㎡
• Structure: Steel construction /steel-reinforced concrete
• Number of Floors: 10 (above ground)

Osaka University receives Partnerships for Progress Award at the 2023 ISCN Excellence Awards

Osaka University won the Partnerships for Progress Award at the 2023 International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) Excellence Awards. This award is granted to universities which have enhanced community awareness of sustainability and created an innovative collaborative model to reduce negative environmental impacts.

The 2023 ISCN Excellence Awards will be presented at the ISCN Annual Conference to be held at the National Autonomous University of Mexico from June 6~8, 2023.

Osaka University is the second Japanese university to receive an award at the ISCN Excellence Awards after Chiba University received an award in 2017, and the first Japanese university to receive the Partnerships for Progress Award.

To view the press release from ISCN, click here.

Click below to view a video of the Minoh Campus Relocation Project that was featured at the ISCN Annual Conference. (via YouTube)

What are the ISCN Excellence Awards?

The ISCN Excellence Awards recognize outstanding endeavors by universities to promote sustainable campuses.

These awards recognize universities in four award categories: Whole Systems Approach, Partnerships for Progress, Cultural Change for Sustainability, and the Honorary Member Award. The Partnerships in Progress Award is granted to universities which have enhanced community awareness of sustainability and created an innovative collaborative model to reduce negative environmental impacts.

*ISCN has 101 members across the globe, including Osaka University, Hokkaido University, and Keio University in Japan as well as Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Melbourne, and many others.

(To view the webpage for ISCN, click here.)

Notable aspects of the Minoh Campus Relocation Project

Through cooperation with local municipalities, private corporations, landowners, and local residents, this project was able to achieve the following:

1. A highly sustainable campus

By achieving high sustainability, the Minoh Campus has achieved Gold Certification in LEED-ND (Neighborhood Development), a first for a university campus in Japan.

The Minoh Campus is praised for the following attributes:

• Suitability of the location and wise use of land
  • Internal campus streets connect the university with the surrounding neighborhood and ecosystems and their diversity are maintained
• Area development approach and community design
  • A pedestrian-friendly environment with affordable housing
• Eco-friendly infrastructure and buildings
  • Efficient use of water and prevention of pollution on the construction site

The Research and Education Hub on the Minoh Campus also received Gold Certification in LEED-NC (New Construction).

For details, click here.

2. Reduction of environmental burden through reduction of campus area

The reduced floor area of the building was greatly reduced by (a) securing a large common space and enhancing the occupancy rate of rooms for exclusive use and (b) sharing the Minoh City Semba Library and the Lifelong Learning Center between OU and Minoh City (both of which are managed and operated by OU). This effort drastically reduced consumption of energy and resource use.

(For information on ZEB (Zero Energy Building) Certification of the Research and Education Hub, click here.)

Breakdown of primary energy consumption at the Research and Education Hub

3. Collaboration with private corporations

In cooperation with air conditioner manufacturer Daikin Industries, Ltd., Osaka University has installed sensors to measure temperature, humidity, air flow, and flow of people, as well as BEMS (Building and Energy Management System) for air conditioning, to transform the campus into a real-life demonstration experiment, a “living lab.”

Related articles on Daikin’s website can be found here. (link in Japanese)

More information cooperation between Osaka University and Daikin can be found here. (link in Japanese)

4. Collaboration with the region

IIn addition to Osaka University and Daikin, many people are involved in this project, including Minoh City, the Osaka Semba Fashion Co-operative Association (COM ART HILL), and local communities.

Under the agreement signed with Minoh City in 2016, OU has developed various research and education facilities, libraries, and cultural exchange facilities. The university understood challenges of the region and requests from residents through talks with the citizen-led organization Minoh Semba Urban Development Committee before construction and reflected them in plans for the improvement and management of the campus.

OU held a symposium for the Minoh City mayor and the Urban Development Committee to discuss the future of the region from their own respective viewpoints in December 2021. Even after the reopening of the Minoh Campus, their relationship continues developing.

The Osaka University Summer Festival held in July of 2022, with internationally-themed booths, performances on the deck stage, and a Bon Odori Dance Festival, drew over 3,000 individuals from both inside and outside the university. On the same day, the road in front of the campus was turned into a "pedestrian paradise," a special area for pedestrians only as part of industry-government-university collaboration.

In addition, a variety of projects are carried out at the Minoh Campus in collaboration with the surrounding region.

For information on the Osaka University Summer Festival, click here. (link in Japanese)

Osaka University Summer Festival (July 2022)

Osaka University wins Osaka Governor’s Award for the 2022 Osaka Climate Change Action Awards

Among universities in Japan, OU has taken the initiative in the pursuit of addressing climate change. The university’s efforts for heat island effect mitigation were recognized, receiving the Osaka Governor's Award for the 2022 Osaka Climate Change Action Awards.

The Mitigation Section of the Osaka Climate Change Action Awards recognizes businesses for their outstanding efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so that they will serve as a good model for other businesses. Osaka Prefecture aims to motivate businesses and further promote response measures for climate change by publishing winners’ efforts on its website.

OU’s efforts were recognized as one of the most excellent approaches in terms of continuity and innovation from a comprehensive perspective. The university was highly evaluated in the following points:

1. Under the concept of implementing standard practice for energy and resource conservation at a cost equivalent to the normal construction cost, the university achieved ZEB status for Building 4 of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Building 2 of the Research and Education Hub for anticipated reduction of greenhouse gases, and
2. They established concrete measures to meet ZEB standards in both the design and operating stages.

Osaka University will continue to strongly promote ZEB with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality.

• Efforts in Net Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB) at OU
• Osaka Climate Change Action Awards (link in Japanese)

Left: Research and Education Hub, the first national university building to receive ZEB Oriented Certification in Japan

Center: Building 4 of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the first new research building at a Japanese national university to receive ZEB Ready Certification

Right: Certification of Building 4 of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Osaka University receives Gold Certification in the Assessment System for Sustainable Campus (ASSC)

Osaka University received Gold certification in the 2021 ASSC from the Campus Sustainability Network in Japan (CAS-Net JAPAN) at the ceremony during its 1st general assembly, which was held on Ritsumeikan University's Tokyo Campus on Saturday, July 16, 2022.

What is Assessment System for Sustainable Campus (ASSC)?

ASSC involves 170 assessment criteria, which are categorized into four fields: Management; Education and Research; Environment; and Local Community. When a respondent institution completes all the assessment details online, CAS-Net Japan determines the levels of certification of the respondents, depending on the number of points they earned.

CAS-Net JAPAN

The Minoh Campus's Research and Education Hub receives the Osaka Environmentally-Friendly Building Award

The Research and Education Hub on Osaka University's Minoh Campus, which opened in April of 2020, received the 2021 Osaka Environmentally-Friendly Building Award in the Businesses and Other Facilities Division.

Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City present this award in order to encourage the construction of eco-friendly buildings and raise citizens’ environmental awareness by recognizing outstanding examples of green buildings.

OU’s efforts were highly evaluated in the following points:

1. Receiving LEED-ND Gold certification (first national university in Japan) and LEED-NC Gold certification (second national university in Japan), despite its limited budget for constructing green buildings,
2. Planning a sustainable town in public-private partnership,
3. Making the new Minoh Campus a place of learning and a landmark in front of a station, as well as a living laboratory, which functions as a joint research center with companies, for the purpose of sharing the results of these activities with the world, and
4. Creating an innovative, experimental space for improving learning effects

Osaka University will continue its efforts in developing sustainable campuses.

Green building approaches to the Research and Education Hub

1. The sustainable approach: implementing standard practice for energy and resource conservation and advancing construction projects that involve local participants

a. Optimizing light and heat in the building with exterior frame by use of:


・Windows in every direction providing an adequate amount of daylight to classrooms

・The exterior frame structure serving as horizontal and vertical eaves shades the window from direct sunlight

・Low emissivity double glass used for all the windows to minimize the amount of heat in summer and keep the heat during the winter

b. Making a campus that considers, connects, and coalesces with local communities by:

・Creating the façade of the campus, which represents the character of Minoh Semba, where textile wholesalers concentrated, and Osaka University’s slogan of “Consider, Connect, and Coalesce” and making it a new landmark for the new town.

・Making the pilotis (or an open space) and plaza connecting the city and the university a place which connects students and local residents and realizes a university that grows together with the community.

c. Implementing standard practice for energy and resource conservation by:

・Introducing energy-efficient LED lighting and motion sensors, which provide illuminated coverage of a specific area

・Achieving natural ventilation of classrooms and laboratories by opening windows

・Promoting air circulation using roof fans

・Introducing energy recovery ventilators and CO₂-sensors which are used to control indoor air quality

・Adopting LEED-compliant water saving sanitary fixtures

2. The global approach: Creating a world class sustainable environment

a. Commendations

Osaka University is the first university to earn LEED-ND Gold and the second to earn LEED-NC Gold

Merits recognized in LEED-ND (Neighborhood Development) certification

• Rehabilitating existing properties through infill development
• Improving pedestrian safety, increasing accessibility, providing adequate pedestrian space, and enhancing the environment.
• Improving man-made ground that connects the railway station and surrounding buildings on the same level
• Developing a large space for holding various events

Merits recognized in LEED-NC (New Construction) certification

• Pollution control measures taken during construction
• Offering of alternative transportation services
• Centralized rainwater management
• Introduction of super-water saving sanitary equipment
• Installation of water saving sanitary equipment
• Water saving landscaping
• Advanced water treatment
• 45% reduction of water use
• Commissioning of the building’s energy system
• Optimization of energy efficiency, and using solar panels

b. University-industry joint research: Developing new air conditioning systems

・An experiment to create a comfortable place that provides relief from hot weather -- “OUTER TOWER,” a newly developed air conditioner (AC), is placed in a free open space outside of the building

・An experiment to realize a comfortable space with energy-saving air-conditioning -- “DESIGN TOWER,” a newly developed floor standing AC, is placed in the indoor dining area with tall ceiling for efficient air conditioning

c. Creating indoor environments with high ventilation to ensure sufficient infection control by:

• Installing air filters of MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) 6 or higher on all ACs
• Using 30 m³/h of outdoor air supply as a bench mark, a ventilation rate of 9 air changes per hour is secured to prevent the spread of COVID-19
• Installing ACs and humidifiers meeting the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard temperature/humidity range.

3. The smart approach: Creating spaces that nurture innovative and experimental knowledge

a. Controlling air quality in the learning environment using sensing data by:

• Conducting joint verification experiments with an AC manufacturer in the classrooms on the 3rd and 4th floors,
• Implementing real-time control of AC, ventilation, and lightning using Internet of Things (IoT) technology,
• Automatically optimizing the physical environment in the classroom, including temperature, air flow, color, lighting, smell, and sound, according to class content, such as active learning toward automatic optimization of the learning environment: temperature, air flow, color, lighting, smell, and sound, according to class content, such as active learning.

b. Installing a displacement ventilation system that has the potential for boosting learning outcomes
In this system,

• Air-conditioned air is supplied from the floor and is exhausted from the ceiling in medium lecture rooms equipped with the displacement ventilation system
• Air from the floor and sweeping from the ceiling in one direction enables highly-efficient displacement ventilation
• Under the outdoor air supply mode, the air intake of 70m³/h per person (3 times that of standard schools) can be achieved, ensuring ventilation of 12 times/hour
• Experiments to examine comfort and effectiveness of infectious disease prevention measures for the displacement ventilation system are also being conducted.

c. Conducting experiments for keeping the cold out of the classroom for a comfortable learning environment

Specifically,

• Investigating whether membrane ceilings could reduce drafts and maintain a uniform temperature in computer study rooms
• Checking comfort in a room by controlling humidity using the DESICA air conditioning system
• Studying brightness- and color temperature-appropriate education environment using color tuning lighting

Global Village Tsukumodai receives Suita City Urban Development Award

Global Village Tsukumodai, which began operations in October 2020, received the 4th Suita City Urban Development Award in the Roadside Division.

The Suita City Urban Development Award aims to increase awareness of residents and businesses towards urban beautification and the quality of urban landscape by recognizing outstanding efforts to contribute to the beautification of their neighborhoods and public vistas of the city.

Receiving particular praise were:

• The large open space and greenery around the building bring facilities within the premises together, achieving a form that harmonizes with its surroundings and blends the building into the landscape, and
• The greenery around the Global Village Tsukumodai is preserved as it was before the development of Senri New Town and the Global Village is in harmony with surrounding residential areas.

Osaka University will improve its facilities considering both the campus landscape and the streetscape of the community.

Minoh Campus receives Sustainable Campus Award

The Minoh Campus, which began operations in April 2020, recently received the 7th Sustainable Campus Award.

Campus Sustainability Network in Japan (CAS-Net Japan), which was established for the purpose of contributing to building a sustainable environmentally-friendly society by sharing experiences in efforts to create sustainable campuses through the university network in Japan, grants a Sustainable Campus Award to universities for their efforts in creating sustainable campuses.

The Minoh Campus was highly evaluated for the following reasons:

• It is a good example of an urban campus open to the region,
• Its library also functions as the city library
• It is the first university in Japan to manage and operate both a library and a lifelong learning facility,
• The Research and Education Hub, one of the facilities within the campus, received LEED-NC (LEED for New Construction and Major Renovation) Gold certification,
• It is the first campus in Japan to receive LEED-ND (LEED certification for neighborhood development) Gold certification.

Osaka University will continue to develop its facilities in consideration of creating sustainable campuses.