Intro/ Chemiless Town
By Tessa Somermeyer
Japan
Hey Everyone,
so i'm actually back from my field experience. I wasn't notified about this blog until halfway through my experience and by then everything was very busy so I didn't have a chance to add to the blog while I was there, but I did write a few entries on my computer for the group I worked for.
I had the opportunity to travel to Japan and work with a small group affiliated with Chiba University in their Center for Environment Health and Field Sciences. Their campus is located across Tokyo Bay from Tokyo in a small city called Kashiwa. There are two professors I worked with mainly, Dr. Chisato Mori, Dr. Emiko Todaka. Four other staff worked with them in the office, Nakaoka Sensei, Shimoda-san, Oora-san, and Hanazato-san. I became very close to all of them in the month that I spent with them. The project that they are currently working on is something called the Chemiless Town. Basically they are attempting to combat the common illness, Sick Building Syndrome, by building healthier indoor habitats and measuring the levels of Volatile Organic Compounds within each habitat. So far they have four different houses which I will describe in later blogs. Their hope is to have people who have sick building syndrome live in these model homes for a period of time and to see if their syndromes decrease or disappear. If they succeed in finding living habitats that decrease these symptoms, this knowledge can then be applied to many different settings such as schools and workplaces. This is a very ambitious project but they are a tight group and have a common dream and lots of enthusiasm. From here on I will paste my blog that I wrote while I was there.
On the day I arrived in the Chemiless Town it was very windy and would rain off and on. But the minute I entered my apartment there was a sense of calm and I instantly felt at home. The furnishings are sparse since no one has lived in the apartment yet, but what is there is very clean and beautiful in its design. The apartment that I am staying in has a terrace that is surrounded by tall windows, which one can open to let in the summer air. There is a table and chairs that are handmade and waxed with a natural wax. The main room has a kitchen and a large closet that is lined with carbon paper to absorb scent. The floor of the main room is made of a very strong wood that the samurai of times past used to use in the floors of their houses. There are sliding glass doors that separate the terrace from the main room so that you the whole apartment may be open to the fresh air. There are windows everywhere in the apartment so that the room is light and inspiring during the morning and afternoon. The shower is a very nice space with a large bath. The apartment is overall a very pleasant place to stay.
There are many flowers and trees that surround the house. The Chemiless Town is a set of four houses, each designed by a different architectural company. They were built on the Kashiwa Campus of Chiba University. It is the perfect setting for these experimental houses because this part of the campus is the horticultural center and there are many different types of trees; there are walnut trees, chestnut trees, plum trees, pear trees, and many others. The rest of the campus buildings have a very sleek modern design and have many widows, which allows for a lot of natural light in the buildings. Next the office building there is a small round building where fresh vegetables, flowers, and fruits are sold everyday from 1pm to 4pm. I was told that it is very popular in this city and people begin to line up before the store opens.
That night I received a warm welcome by the staff of the Chemiless Town at Dr. Chisato Mori's great grandfather's house, the famous writer Ogai Mori's house, which is now a restaurant. After having dinner and meeting everyone, I could see why the Chemiless Town is possible; they are a small and close group of people who have a common dream. I immediately felt welcomed to the group. They are very patient with my Japanese, which is very limited and often spoke in English so that I could understand the conversation. After the most amazing dinner, we parted ways and I returned to my cozy apartment for my first night in the Chemiless Town.
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