Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City: Business Continuity Planning and Life Continuity Planning Done by Block
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The planning of disaster-resistant cities is indispensable to Japan, which is subject to many natural disasters. In recent years, business continuity planning (BCP) and life continuity planning (LCP) are being done to secure facility functions in disasters for buildings with important functions and to enable business to continue.
At Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City, for which Nikken Sekkei served as a consultant, BCP and LCP were done not only by building but also by city block. The greatest feature of this method is that it provides safety and security for the entire city by using the technologies and systems usually implemented for low carbon or energy savings to support BCP and LCP, by city block, during disasters. The cutting-edge attempts and specific technologies used for Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City are presented herein.
BCP and LCP
BCP and LCP stand for business continuity planning and life continuity planning, respectively. Originally, the concept emerged from the field of business, with the objective of such plans being to keep damage to the minimum in the event of disasters and other emergency situations and to allow business and daily life to swiftly recover.
When considered in conjunction not only with organizational and management systems but with hard elements, including buildings, business recovery is, in fact, difficult. The issue is not about reacting after a disaster but about determining, in advance, matters important to continuing business and daily life and planning measures to ensure that said matters are not interrupted.
Specific considerations include the safety of buildings themselves, naturally; the lifelines within buildings, such as electricity, communications equipment, and the water supply; and the securing of spaces for conducting important business activities and the functions for supporting said activities. Planning and operation with emergencies envisioned is also important, such as securing energy for business activities and operating efficiently with limited energy.
Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City: Recognized by MIPIM, an International Property Event
Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City is the biggest development plan that Nikken Sekkei has undertaken in the capacity of a designer consultant in urban design and a smart energy consultant. Industry, government, and academia collaborated on this advanced city planning, which was based on the themes of environmental symbiosis, health and longevity, and new industry creation.
This smart city is located near Kashiwa-no-ha Campus Station, where the Tsukuba Express stops, and campuses of the University of Tokyo and Chiba University are in the area. It is comprised of commercial facilities, office buildings, and accommodation building with lodging facilities, residential buildings, and energy building that integrates power supply and heat source facilities in one place, and LaLaport, a commercial facility with 180 shops.
These efforts have received praise from overseas. The city received a ULI Global Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institute (ULI), a non-profit organization engaged in research and education on real-estate development and land use, as well as the BEST FUTURA MEGA PROJECT Award at MIPIM, an international real-estate event held in Cannes, France.
Energy Management Achieved with Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City
Passive design utilizing natural energy, such as solar power generation and solar water heating, was incorporated in buildings within the city blocks. The accommodation building has 14 floors above ground. Plans were made to utilize its height and the stairwells that are part of the building for natural ventilation and drafts. In other buildings as well, site characteristics were made use of for rooftop and wall surface greening and for the utilization of geothermal heat, well water and the like, thus saving energy and reducing CO2.
The greatest feature is the energy management done using the entire city block by means of the Area Energy Management System (AEMS) constructed in the smart center of the accommodation building. Rendering the energy of the entire block visible promotes the behavior navigation of facility users and residents in saving energy and CO2. With highly motivated energy-saving efforts featuring user participation mechanisms, annual reductions of several million yen in costs and about 88 tons of CO2 emissions can be expected.
Linked with AEMS, the electric power interchange system, which combines solar power generation and large-scale storage batteries, made peak shifts and peak cuts beyond city blocks for facilities with different electric power peaks, achieving interchange amount control and electric power load leveling.
Applying the Regular Energy Management System to BCP and LCP for Disasters
The greatest feature of Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City is that the regular energy management system can be used, as is, in BCP and LCP for disasters.
The accommodation and residential buildings, which are residential areas, and the energy building, which is an energy source in emergencies, were given seismic isolation structures and can be used in disasters. Space was secured in the conference hall so that it functions as a disaster prevention center that can accommodate 1,000 stranded commuters. In addition, the stock warehouse stores a three-day supply of food and water for 1,600 people.
With AEMS, the emergency generator equipment, solar power electric generator, and large-scale storage batteries of the energy building supply the necessary energy in just the necessary amount. The passive design and natural energy adopted for each building are also made use of in disasters, which is useful for BCP.
Moreover, each city block has been planned so that even if there is an area power outage, the electric power generated within city blocks can be supplied to other city blocks with shortages. Managing the supply-demand balance for each area makes it possible to manage the entire city, even during emergencies.
In this way, the usual saving of energy and CO2 will, just as it is, demonstrate effectiveness in BCP for emergencies. With efficient power distribution of limited energy during emergencies and the like, AEMS, which is ordinarily active in energy management, including electric power interchange, has been planned so that BCP for both ordinary and extraordinary circumstances are two sides of the same coin. Energy can be saved without any special awareness, and measures can be taken with a smooth switchover that requires no strain, even during disasters. With its fusion of technology and anti-disaster measures, Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City is truly a smart city on the cutting edge.