Thursday, June 24, 2010

Sumitomo Metals' Corporate Research & Development Laboratories (Amagasaki city) Enhance Capabilities as Urban-Type Research Base through Facility Renewal 

Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Metals) has decided to renew the facilities of its Corporate Research & Development Laboratories at Amagasaki city and the construction work has been started today. The main project of the renewal is to build a new research building and a new laboratory for the purpose of enhancing the technological capabilities of these laboratories as an urban-type research base.

The first floor of the new research building will use the world's strongest structural steel materials that Sumitomo Metals has developed (product name: SSS1000) for the first time in the world, to ensure high seismic capacity.

1.Outline of the renewal
The Corporate Research & Development Laboratories (Amagasaki city) are located in the center of the Kansai region. They function as an urban-type research base with easy access for Sumitomo Metals' customers, and are carrying out joint research and development programs with many customers.
The aims of the renewal project, which will entail the construction of a new research building and a new laboratory, are to enhance the laboratories' capabilities as an urban-type research base, promote technological development, and ultimately raise customer satisfaction.

(1)New research building:
From the second floor to the fourth floor, an expansive pillar-free open space office of 2,300m2 (23m x 100m), with two indoor staircases that connect the floors. The new offices will encourage researchers, who are assigned to different products or technical areas, to share the space, interact, and actively communicate with each other. This should lead to the enhancement of intellectual productivity.
Researchers who are currently dispersed among small, old buildings will be consolidated into this new research building.

(2)New laboratory:
A new laboratory will be constructed adjacent to the new research building. A connecting bridge will provide researchers with greater convenience and mobility.

2.Outline of new buildings
(1) Major construction:
  New research building (5 floors above ground; gross floor area of 20,377m2)
New laboratory (4 floors above ground; gross floor area of 5,633m2)
(2) Investment : 10 billion yen
(3) Construction : From June 2010 to May 2012
(4) Structure:
  The new research building will use the "SSS1000" for the first time in the world. This product is the world's strongest structural steel material that Sumitomo Metals has developed jointly with Osaka University, Kyoto Institute of Technology, NIKKEN SEKKEI Ltd., and KATAYAMA STRATECH Corp. By intensively installing the "SSS1000" and a vibration control device (product name: Steel Unbuckling Brace "SUB"), on the first floor of the building, the "SUB" will absorb most of the seismic energy while pillars made of the "SSS1000" swing sinuously at the time of an earthquake.
In addition, we will use our unique building materials such as a new-structure steel pipe pile installed by the rotary penetration method (product name: GEO-WING PILE™ II) and lightweight welded H-beams (product name: SMart BEAM™) for this construction.
(5) Energy saving:
  The new laboratory will use double-skin facades (two layers of glass for the outer walls), a cooling system utilizing outside air, lighting control, and other methods, with the aim of achieving 30% energy savings when compared to conventional highly-functional office buildings.
(6) Design and supervision: NIKKEN SEKKEI Ltd.
(7) Construction: Shimizu Corporation

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