Press Release

November 25, 2014
LIXIL JS Foundation“The 4th LIXIL International University Architectural Competition”
Top Prize-Winning University of California, Berkeley's NEST WE GROW Is Completed～New next-generation sustainable housing is created on the site of Memu Meadows in
Taiki-cho, Hokkaido～
The LIXIL JS Foundation (located in Koto-ku, Tokyo; president: Yoichiro Ushioda), whichfacilitates surveys and research related to the housing and building materials industries aswell as supporting the development of human resources, is pleased to announce today that
“NEST WE GROW” designed by University of California, Berkeley of the United States has
been completed on a site of Memu Meadows in Taiki-cho, Hokkaido, environmental
technology research facilities managed by the foundation.
NEST WE GROW is the top prize winner inthe 4th LIXIL International University
Architectural Competition sponsored by theLIXIL JS Foundation, aimed to seek andreview next-generation sustainable housing
technology
andcommunicating
thattechnology to global society. The project wasdesigned based on the theme: “ProductiveGarden – A Space for Enjoying Hokkaido
with All Five Senses.”
At NEST WE GROW the ground floor
University of California, Berkeley
concrete wall is activated with deep andNEST WE GROW
medium root vegetables like tomato, daikon,and pumpkin that grow in the soil blocks in the wall. Planters hung from the wood frame and placedon the elevated platform can grow shallow and medium root vegetables like cucumber, eggplant, andcabbage. The ground level holds a community kitchen where people can gather, prepare food, anddine.
The main structure of the Nest is comprised of nine composite columns made in Hokkaido. The Nesttakes advantage of the transparent plastic corrugated sheets on the façade and roof, allowing light in forthe plants, and heating the space during cooler months, which extends the growing season. Sliding
panels in the façade and roof open to further facilitate air movement through the structure during thesummer and warmer parts of the day. The funnel-shaped roof harvests rain water and snow melt. The
collected water is delivered to tanks that are then used to irrigate the plants in the concrete wall.
With the completion of NEST WE GROW, Memu Meadows is currently a home to four houses
designed by students, i.e., Machi Matou Ie designed by Waseda University completed in 2012 (the topprize winner in the 1st LIXIL International University Architectural Competition in 2011), BARN
HOUSE designed by Keio University (the top prize winner in the 2nd competition) and HORIZONHOUSE designed by Harvard University completed last year (the top prize winner in the 3rdcompetition).
These houses will continue to be monitored after completion from a perspective of unique “nextgeneration sustainable housing” designed by the students themselves and its results will be verified.
The LIXIL JS Foundation will extend support along with the local government (Taiki-cho,Hokkaido) continuously and communicate the results of demonstrations to society.

1＜Reference Information＞≪Attached Document≫■ NEST WE GROW Design Team: College of Environmental Design, UC Berkeley
Designers：
・Dana Buntrock, Professor and Project Supervisor
・Baxter Smith
・Yan Xin Huang・Fenzheng Dong・Hsiu Wei Chang
・Hsin Yu Chen
Area：99.8m2
Construction Cost: $ 200,000【Concept】
NEST WE GROW is the Nest spatially made up of food and programmatically designed for food. Thewood frame structure mimics the vertical spatial experience of a Japanese larch forest where foodgrows and is hung to get dried. The concrete wall on the ground floor creates a micro topography on
the relatively flat landscape, and this topographic wall grows our food. The program of the Nest is
decided according to the life cycle of these local foods: growing, harvesting, storing, cooking/dining
and composting, which restarts the cycle. All members of the community help to complete each stage,
allowing the structure to become a platform for group learning activities in the Nest throughout theyear.
【Features】
・Structure corresponding to the life cycle of local agriculture
During the spring and summer, the ground floor concrete wall is activatedwith deep and medium root vegetables like tomato, daikon, and pumpkinthat grow in the soil blocks in the wall. Meanwhile, planters hung fromthe wood frame and placed on the elevated platform can grow shallow
and medium root vegetables like cucumber, eggplant, and cabbage. In
autumn the vegetables can be harvested from the walkways that wrap
around the edge of the structure. These platforms and walkways also
allow visitors to wander and become immersed in the vertical andhorizontal multitudes of local agriculture. The ground level holds acommunity kitchen where people can gather, prepare food and dine.
There are composting bays embedded in the concrete wall wherecommunity members can contribute unused food throughout the year,building the life cycle of foodstuffs.
・Response to Hokkaido’s Climate
The wall at the base of the building, in addition to creating a micro topography, helps to block theprevailing northwest winter wind. The transparent plastic corrugated sheets on the façade and roof
allow light in for the plants, and heating the space during cooler months, which extends the growing
season. Sliding panels in the façade and roof open to further facilitate air movement through thestructure during the summer and warmer parts of the day. The openness of the façade allows thebuilding to incorporate the surrounding natural environment, with the interior climate tied directly tothe exterior environment. The funnel-shaped roof harvests water and snow melt. The collected water isdelivered to tanks, then used to irrigate the plants in the concrete wall.
■ Overview of Facility
Name: Memu Meadows
Location: 158-1 Memu, Taiki-cho, Hiro-gun, Hokkaido (on the former site of Taiki Farms)
Owner: LIXIL JS Foundation（2-1-1 Ojima, Koto-ku, Tokyo, 136-8535）
Site area: App. 184,000 m2
Main facilities: Experimental house “Même”, “BANGLADESH BANBOO PROJECT”, “A recipe tolive”, “BARN HOUSE”, “HORIZON HOUSE”, multipurpose hall, laboratory, three housing units(accommodation for researchers), two log houses (accommodation for researchers), fitness center,restaurant, sauna, administrative building, etc.
URL: http://www.lixil.co.jp/s/taiki-cho/about/2

■Overview of the 4th LIXIL International University Architectural Competition
1． Participating universities: twelve universities in nine countries(◎: Entrants that advanced to the open final screening on April 25)◎The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (Norway)
Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands)
Politecnico of Milan (Italy)
Liebniz University Hannover (Germany)◎University of California, Berkeley (USA)The University of Utah (USA)
Tongji University (China)
National University of Singapore (Singapore)
Bandung Institute of Technology (Republic of Indonesia)
The University of Tokyo (Japan)◎Tokyo University of Agriculture (Japan)
Hokkaido University (Japan)
2． Judging method
Twelve universities in nine countries were invited to submit proposals for a next-generation, sustainable
house designed for a cold region. Three entrants were then selected in the first screening (based on
documents submitted). The top prize winner was subsequently chosen in the Open Final Screening.
3．Jury:Kengo Kuma (Architect / Professor, the University of Tokyo)
Tomonari Yashiro(Professor, Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo / Vice President, the University of Tokyo)
Isoya Shinji(Landscape Architect / Doctor of Architecture / Professor Emeritus, Tokyo University of Agriculture)
Kundo Koyama (Television, radio and script writer / Professor, Tohoku University of Art and Design)
4．Prizes
Top prize (one work): $15,000 (USD; including design costs)
Award of Excellence (two works): $3,000*Top-prize work will be constructed on a site in Memu Meadows (Taiki-cho, Hokkaido).
Organizer: LIXIL JS Foundation
Cooperator: LIXIL Corporation Research Institute, Hokkaido Taiki Town
Supporter: Obihiro Development and Construction Dept. / Hokkaido Regional Development
Bureau / Hokkaido Government Tokachi General Subprefectural Bureau / Architectural Institute ofJapan / The Japan Institute of Architects (JIA) / Japan Federation of Architects & BuildingEngineers Associations / Shinkenchiku-sha Co., Ltd.
Official website: www.lixiljsfound.or.jp/category/1835715.html
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/LIXIL.IUAC■About LIXIL
LIXIL is a company operating on a global scale with the management vision: “Becoming a
global leader in the housing and lifestyle industry.” In 2009 it acquired American Standard
Asia Pacific (based in China), which manufactures and sells sanitary ware. It also acquired
Permasteelisa Group (based in Italy), which markets high-end curtain walls, in 2011 andAmerican Standard Brands (based in the U.S.), well-known for its quality sanitary ware, in2013. In 2014 LIXIL and Development Bank of Japan jointly acquired 87.5% of theoutstanding shares in GROHE, thereby turning it into an equity method affiliate.
Contact Information
Executive Secretariat of 4th LIXIL International University Architectural Competition
KYODO PUBLIC RELATIONS Co., Ltd.
Futa Tsuji , +81(0)3-3571-5326
lixil_pr@kyodo-pr.co.jp

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