The French School of Asian Studies – École Française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO) – holds an extensive library housed in a new building in Kyoto. The narrow site is surrounded by neighboring buildings on three sides. Equipped with the most advanced technological features (electrochromic glass, ecological glass-wool insulation, geothermal heat storage, solar panels, etc.), the structure offers a prime example of sustainable development in modern construction. At the same time, time-honored Japanese woodworking methods were deployed, allowing the building to be erected rapidly.

Japanese wooden carpentry – Traditional construction: While most of Japanese architectural practices prefer using concrete and steel structures for the construction of office buildings, one of the challenges of this project is to contract a local construction company, a local carpenter, and to use a standard traditional short-span (1.8 m) wooden structure. Checked by a mechanical engineer, this structure is responding to the same anti-seismic requirements as other structures.

Using wood is an economical, ecological and ethical statement. All building materials and wood are ecological (Japanese Agricultural Standard), most of the wood comes from sustainable local forests. The wooden furniture (bookshelves, tables and desks) are designed by the architect and built by a local artisan.

Transferring ecological technologies – Visible innovation: Located in an urban environment and on a narrow site surrounded on three sides by other constructions, the main façade is oriented to the west which is the most exposed to afternoon sunlight. This issue has been discussed with the group Saint-Gobain who decided to experiment on this building using a new technology for the first time in Asia. Trialed for more than ten years in the USA, Sage electrochromic glass allows a sunlight reduction between 60% (clear position) and 98% (darker). This is the first use of electrochromic glass in Asia. This glazed façade has been mounted by the Japanese carpenters on a wooden curtain-wall, thus showing the adaptation of a new technology by local technicians.

New economic/ecological system: In Japan, most of constructions do not have thermal insulation, and rely mostly on mechanical air conditioning. Since March 2011, the population of Japan is more aware of the need to reduce the consumption of electric power, and new insulation materials start to be used.

This project introduces a new ecological glass wool (Mag Isover) made in Japan. The electric power of the building is supplied by solar panels that cover the southern side of the roof. The air conditioning of the building is provided by a “cool tube” geothermal system: outside air passes into a tube buried in the ground so that the air injected into the building is always at a geothermal temperature (10-15°C). Standard electric floor heating and air conditioning can also be used in extreme conditions. The main façade, most exposed to the outside, is a buffer zone and a place of physical movement: a staircase.