Conference: US-Japan Workshop: Re-thinking the Relationship between Built Environment Conditions and Health and Well-being in Changing Climatic, Social, and Technological Contexts

This grant provides partial support for U.S. participants to attend a two-day workshop in Tokyo, Japan, on March 28 and 29, 2024. The workshop objectives are to 1) increase understanding of how climate, societal, and healthcare changes impact existing buildings and infrastructure, influencing future design; 2) examine how these changes affect people's health and well-being in current buildings, influencing future design; and 3) explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can help analyze relevant complex relationships and evaluate AI's role in this context.

Kyushu University, a top research institution in Japan, will host the workshop. Japan's vulnerability to climate change and its challenge to achieve carbon neutrality make it a key arena for finding creative solutions and working together internationally to tackle urgent environmental and climate challenges. Japan's unique social and cultural characteristics can offer different perspectives and innovative solutions.

Additionally, Kyushu University's interdisciplinary expertise in various engineering fields and its commitment to sustainability make it an ideal host for the workshop. The conference will bring together experts from different fields to collaborate on sustainable building design and engineering. This diversity of expertise will provide valuable insights and drive innovation in addressing sustainability challenges and human well-being in the built environment.

Recent changes in climate, society, and technology will impact how buildings are designed and engineered. These changes bring both challenges and opportunities. First, climate change will lead to the need for more resilient and healthier buildings to cope with extreme heat and climate change-related health challenges.

Secondly, societal changes like sustainability, environmental awareness, and an aging population will shape how buildings will be designed, engineered, and operated. Thirdly, advancements in healthcare will influence how buildings are designed to promote health and well- being. Lastly, artificial intelligence (AI) breakthroughs can transform building design and engineering.

The collaborative discussion among U.S. and Japanese researchers and scholars at the workshop will enable the exchange of knowledge and ideas, facilitating potential breakthroughs in building science and human health. The diverse expertise will provide an environment for formulating comprehensive solutions and advancing collective understanding of sustainable buildings, improving society, and promoting global cooperation in environmental sustainability and human health.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.