Kajima Corporation's Asia regional headquarters, "The GEAR"^*1, has been awarded First Place in the New Commercial Building category at the ASHRAE Technology Awards.

ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) is the world's largest and most prestigious professional organization in the field of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R). The ASHRAE Technology Awards, organized by the Society, represent one of the highest international honors in the field, recognizing outstanding building design and operation projects from around the world.

This marks the first time a Kajima-developed project (including development, design, and construction) has received this award. It is also the first time a building located in Singapore has won the honor.

*1 The GEAR: Kajima Lab for Global Engineering, Architecture & Real Estate

Award Ceremony Held in Las Vegas on January 31, 2026
(From left: Yuichi Takemasa, Deputy Director, Kajima Technical Research Institute; Bill McQuade, ASHRAE President; Shuichi Oishi, Chief Executive Officer, Kajima Development; Eikichi Ono, Senior Researcher, Kajima Technical Research Institute Singapore)

Key Features of The GEAR

The GEAR integrates office functions with research & development and open innovation capabilities. Based on a design philosophy that actively incorporates the natural environment, the facility combines passive design^*2 strategies with advanced technologies to achieve both enhanced comfort and wellness and high energy performance in a tropical climate.

A symbolic feature of the project is the semi-outdoor workspace "K/PARK," which exemplifies the seamless integration of nature, architecture, and building systems.

Furthermore, the "The GEAR Digital Platform," an IoT platform utilizing data collected from more than 8,000 sensors installed throughout the building, enables continuous, data-driven operational optimization through performance monitoring. As a result, The GEAR has achieved a 45% reduction in energy consumption compared to a reference building, while significantly reducing reliance on air-conditioning through the effective use of natural ventilation without compromising high levels of occupant satisfaction.

This award recognizes the comprehensive technical excellence achieved by the close collaboration of Kajima Development (the building owner), local subsidiaries, Kajima's Architectural Design Division, Kajima Technical Research Institute, and many other stakeholders from the early planning stage through design, construction, and continuous operational improvements. The integrated technical capabilities demonstrated through this collaboration have been highly acclaimed internationally.

*2 Passive design: An architectural design approach that utilizes natural environmental elements, such as natural ventilation, solar shading, daylighting, and thermal insulation performance, to reduce dependence on mechanical air-conditioning and lighting systems while achieving energy saving and indoor comfort.

Future Outlook

Kajima positions The GEAR as a "living laboratory" to accelerate research and development and the implementation of research outcomes into real-world applications. Through this platform, Kajima continues to advance sustainable, occupant-centric architectural and building systems technologies.

Moving forward, Kajima will further enhance data-driven design and operational excellence and promote open innovation, contributing to both environmental impact reduction and the improvement of human well-being.