Energy efficient structures are passion of post-tsunami Japan

[caption id="attachment_21806" align="alignright" width="493"] Koji Abe, deputy chief of the Japanese consulate at SUNY Polytechnic Institute's new ZEN building.[/caption]

Albany

SUNY Polytechnic Institute's new $191 million ZEN building may have more symbolism for Japan than it does for the Capital Region.

Japanese business and government leaders toured the newly completed ZEN building on Tuesday as part of a celebration of their $25 million research and development partnership on the one-of-a-kind building.

ZEN, which stands for zero energy nanotechnology, is the latest building at the expanding SUNY Poly campus. But it is unlike any other that has ever been built at the campus, mainly known as a research center for next generation computer chip manufacturing.

At 356,000 square feet, ZEN was designed to be extremely energy efficient and generate more electricity than it consumes using a combination of fuel cells and solar panels.

For a country like Japan, which has limited natural resources and has grown wary of nuclear energy following the tsunami natural disaster of 2011, the ability to design buildings that are entirely self-sufficient has become a national passion, said Koji Abe, deputy chief of mission of the Japanese consulate general in New York City.

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By Larry Rulison Updated 11:14 pm, Tuesday, March 22, 2016