On the morning of September 22nd, the International Campus, Zhejiang University held the inauguration ceremony of the International Research Center for Green Buildings and Low-Carbon Cities. Academician GAO Weijun was invited to the ceremony to make an academic report on relevant topics. Attendees of the ceremony include HE Lianzhen, Vice President of Zhejiang University, and Secretary of the Party Committee of the International Campus; CAO Guoliang, Secretary of the Haining Municipal Party Committee of the Communist Party; OUYANG Hongwei, Dean of International Campus; heads of relevant departments and experts in relevant fields on campus; heads of relevant departments from the local governments in Jiaxing and Haining; heads of the International Research Center for Green Buildings and Low-Carbon Cities, and representatives of faculties and students. In-depth conversations were carried out on building green human settlements and low-carbon cities during the event.
At the ceremony, HE Lianzhen, CAO Guoliang, OUYANG Hongwei, and LIU Zhengrong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, unveiled the nameplate for the International Research Center for Green Buildings and Low-carbon cities.
On behalf of the International Campus, Zhejiang University, OUYANG Hongwei congratulated the inauguration of the center. Ouyang expressed optimism about the future of the center under the background of China’s national “Double Carbon” development goal, given that the center has gathered domestic and international experts to conduct researches aiming at integrating both sustainability and health performance into human settlements. He pointed to the possible cooperation between the research center and the academic departments on campus, which would not only lead to more academic innovation but also contribute to cultivating researchers in environmental sustainability. It is his hope that the center would take a leading role both in Zhejiang University and at local communities in building sustainable cities and ecosystems.
After the ceremony, Professor GAO Weijun, chief expert of the research center and a foreign academician of the Japanese Academy of Engineering, addressed the attendees at the multi-purpose hall with the report titled Urban Regeneration and Low Carbon Construction in Japan. Integrating detailed case studies, this report offers a comprehensive view of Japan’s endeavors in promoting urban regeneration and low-carbon construction from three angles- problems of Japanese cities and the solutions, the intensive city as a concept and in practice, and the energy-saving and carbon reduction in stand-alone buildings. This report casts light on some experiences the low-carbon construction in China could borrow from Japan. The regeneration of Japanese cities, as Professor Gao pointed out in the report, centers around people and is carried out simultaneously from two dimensions, the ‘point’ and the ‘plane’. Meanwhile, the regeneration progresses along with the advances in relevant laws and policies, which are problem-based.
The Research Center for Green Buildings and Low-carbon Cities was founded in March 2021 and it has set up cooperative relations with top research institutions such as Cambridge University, Tokyo University, the Asian Institute of Low Carbon Design in Japan, Cornell University, and ETH Zurich. They have been working together in promoting academic innovation, cultivating research talents, transforming technological achievements, and seeking opportunities to establish joint educational programs between top universities in the world. According to Professor GE Jian, director of the center, the center has cooperated with internationally renowned institutions to build laboratories in three fields: healthy building and urban environment, green building and low-carbon city, and the big data regarding green building and low-carbon. The center has also undertaken several national, provincial, and ministerial key projects such as international cooperation projects of key R&D plans, key projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and so on. An international journal, City and Built Environment was also founded by the center.
The founding of the International Research Center for Green Buildings and Low-Carbon Cities at the international campus is an active response to China’s strategic goals of “Building Green and Healthy Human Settlements” and “Double Carbon”. In the future, the research center is going to promote sustainable and low-carbon living in the whole area of the Yangtze River Delta through various approaches such as global educational programs and industrial cooperation. It will give back to society to the greatest extent by leading the construction of a green, healthy, and low-carbon living environment.
The Editorial Department of City and Built Environment was inaugurated along with the research center.
（Translation: WANG Ruoqin）