Planning Comfortable Indoor Environments

PTM has, on several projects, made use of thermal environment simulations to create comfortable environments. CFD(Computational Fluid Dynamics) has recently been used as a detailed environmental prediction tool in planning and design stages.
Our company has had some considerable achievements, particularly in large open spaces such as halls and atriums, as comfort is important and a high rate of air conditioning is necessary in occupied areas. Using CFD we have verified the designs in a number of cases and so selected the most appropriate air conditioning systems. In addition to large open spaces, we have been able to carry out studies of natural ventilation etc., and various thermal environments in offices and data centers.

TOKYO NATIONAL MUSEUM HYOKEIKAN

In 2006, renovations were carried out on the Hyoukeikan at the Tokyo National Museum for opening to the public. During the renovations, we carried out studies into the feasibility of installing variable directional fans, as well as facades that looked like display panels, for the fan coil units.

YOKOHAMA INTERNATIONAL PORT TERMINAL

Architectural Design	FOREIGN OFFICE ARCHITECTS
Location	Kanagawa

FOA incorporated folding steel panels and large open areas in their competition winning design for the Yokohama International Port Terminal.
In working with the design, PTM designed a cost minimising floor diffusing air-conditioning system to ensure a comfortable occupancy zone.

TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FORRUM

Architectural Design	Rafael Vinoly Architects P.C.
Location	Tokyo
Completed	1996
Floors	11storeys above ground 3storeys below ground　 144,405㎡
Total cooling capacity	3,750USRT
Total heating capacity	12,000Mcal/h
Transformer	20,000 KVA

Raphael Vinoly's winning plans for the Tokyo International Forum were for a conference center functionally separated into 4 halls and a 60m high glass atrium. PTM were requested to create an environment for the Grand Atrium which maximized comfort while minimizing energy consumption. The final plan was for a combination of natural ventilation and localized air conditioning systems. Verification utilizing CFD modeling was carried out as part of the system construction.

AOMORI MUSEUM OF ART

Architectural Design	JUN AOKI & ASSOCIATES
Location	Aomori
completed	2005
floors/Total floor space	3storeys above ground 2storeys below ground　 21,133㎡

At the Aomori Museum of Art, a slat type outlet was installed in about 20m of the ceiling.
As the ceiling is high the air current from the outlet failed to reach the occupied areas giving rise to the likelihood of discomfort inside the building. Therefore a detailed study was carried out.

KASAIRIAKAI PARKVIEW POINT VISITORS CENTER

Architectural Design	TANIGUCHI & ASSOCIATES
Location	Tokyo
Ｃｏｍｐｌｅｔｅｄ	1995
Floors	2 storeys above ground 1 storey below ground 769.947㎡

At Kasai Rinkan Park, examinations of the thermal environment in the view plaza glass rest house were carried out.

SHIZUOKA CONVENTION & ARTS CENTER

Architectural Design	ARATA ISOZAKI & ASSOCIATES
Location	Tokyo
Ｃｏｍｐｌｅｔｅｄ	998
Floors	11 storeys above ground 1 below / 60,630㎡
Total cooling capacity	2054USRT
Total heating capacity	4,800Mcal/h
Transformer	3,000 KVA

Isosakisin Studio requested that the experience gained on the Tokyo International Forum be applied to the Shizuoka Convention Centre. This multi-purpose 60m high hall accommodating 5,000 people was thus designed. Temperature stratification and sectionalised air-conditioning was used for this large scale hall