Why are Japanese buildings weak against summer heat? Towards developing "heat-shielding building materials" with Fukuoka University. Changing Japan's summer from Fukuoka. The dream of a construction company and university challenging "heat-shielding building material development" ~ Seiko Estate & Development
Seiko Estate & Development has announced a joint project with Fukuoka University to develop building materials that block summer heat. The initiative aims to address the insulation challenges in Japanese architecture and establish a new construction norm where buildings inherently prevent heat.
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- 📰 Published: April 1, 2026 at 17:00
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Our company endorses April Dream, which aims to make April 1st a day to announce dreams. This press release is the dream of "Seiko Estate & Development Co., Ltd."
## "Why are Japanese buildings weak against summer heat?"
Seiko Estate & Development Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture / Representative Director: Masatoshi Takaki), a construction company headquartered in Fukuoka City that directly contracts with real estate investors across Japan to support new apartment building investments and nursing home investments, announces its vision of "developing heat-shielding building materials for summer" through joint research with Fukuoka University, as a dream it wishes to realize, in賛同 with "April Dream" organized by PR TIMES.
In recent years, due to the prolonged scorching summers, the cooling load on homes, apartments, and facilities has been increasing annually. However, Japanese architecture's insulation performance does not sufficiently consider "blocking summer heat." To address this issue, we aim to create a new architectural norm through joint research with Fukuoka University: "buildings themselves prevent heat."
## A dream to develop "heat-shielding building materials for summer"
Our dream is simple:
"To create a world where buildings themselves block summer heat."
Currently, many buildings in Japan maintain comfort by relying on air conditioning systems.
However, this simultaneously presents challenges such as soaring electricity costs, increased energy consumption, and greater environmental burden.
If buildings themselves could block external heat—
that common sense would change significantly.
## Why joint research with Fukuoka University?
Seiko Estate & Development is currently conducting research on new building materials and architectural structures in collaboration with Fukuoka University.
Behind this are concerns such as:
- Japanese architecture is still weak in "summer heat shielding."
- Due to global warming, summer heat will become even more severe in the future.
- It is necessary to improve the building structure itself.
Representative Takaki states the following:
## "Why are Japanese buildings weak against summer heat?"
Seiko Estate & Development Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture / Representative Director: Masatoshi Takaki), a construction company headquartered in Fukuoka City that directly contracts with real estate investors across Japan to support new apartment building investments and nursing home investments, announces its vision of "developing heat-shielding building materials for summer" through joint research with Fukuoka University, as a dream it wishes to realize, in賛同 with "April Dream" organized by PR TIMES.
In recent years, due to the prolonged scorching summers, the cooling load on homes, apartments, and facilities has been increasing annually. However, Japanese architecture's insulation performance does not sufficiently consider "blocking summer heat." To address this issue, we aim to create a new architectural norm through joint research with Fukuoka University: "buildings themselves prevent heat."
## A dream to develop "heat-shielding building materials for summer"
Our dream is simple:
"To create a world where buildings themselves block summer heat."
Currently, many buildings in Japan maintain comfort by relying on air conditioning systems.
However, this simultaneously presents challenges such as soaring electricity costs, increased energy consumption, and greater environmental burden.
If buildings themselves could block external heat—
that common sense would change significantly.
## Why joint research with Fukuoka University?
Seiko Estate & Development is currently conducting research on new building materials and architectural structures in collaboration with Fukuoka University.
Behind this are concerns such as:
- Japanese architecture is still weak in "summer heat shielding."
- Due to global warming, summer heat will become even more severe in the future.
- It is necessary to improve the building structure itself.
Representative Takaki states the following: