MANUFACTURING THE WOODEN CITY: A study into the development of wood construction in Japan

The University of Tokyo

MANUFACTURING THE WOODEN CITY A study into the development of wood construction in Japan

Michal Gryko

MANUFACTURING THE WOODEN CITY A study into the development of wood construction in Japan

木製都市の生産 日本における木構造の発展についての考察

Michal Gryko Kengo Kuma Laboratory University of Tokyo Graduate School of Engineering Department of Architecture

2017, Printed in Tokyo, Japan For more information on Kuma Lab Visit http://kuma-lab.arch.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ Kuma Labaratory University of Tokyo Graduate School of Engineering Department of Architecture 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku Tokyo, 113-8656 Japan

MANUFACTURING THE WOODEN CITY A study into the development of wood construction in Japan Thesis Submitted to The University of Tokyo In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Master of Science in Architecture By Michal Gryko Japan, Tokyo August, 2017

Thesis Directed by: Professor Kengo Kuma Sub-supervisors: Koshihara Mikio Fujita Kaori

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Firstly I would like to give my appreciation to Professor Kengo Kuma, who has always been an inspiration to me even before I came to Japan. His articulated and thoughtful approach in merging traditional Japanese elements with modern day living has provided strong guidance over the last few years.

Professor Kuma’s constructive suggestions and direction throughout my research and masters course has proved invaluable. Alongside, Professor Kuma, assistant professor Dr. Hirano Toshiki, and my sub-supervisors Mikio Koshihara and Kaori Fujita have supported me through the structuring and streamlining of my research. Their advice and assistance helped greatly in the progress of my thesis writing.

While taking an Entrepreneurship course at the University of Tokyo, directed

by Professor Robert Kneller I gained much guidance toward the practical applications of engineered wood and prefabrication in Japan. This helped move this project away from the conceptual realm and closer towards plausible solutions to future housing issues. Therefore I would like to Thank Professor Kneller, for his patience and open-minded suggestions during the course.

From the technical standpoint of this thesis I would like to thank. Ryosuke Sasaki and. Manabu Yamasaki and Hoshi Nobu from Sekisui Chemical co LTD, who shared me with much in depth knowledge about prefabricated housing in Japan and discussed with me the complicated matters involving future implementation of wooden modules in the city.

Finally, without the great opportunity that the Japanese Government provided me through the awarding of the Monbukagakusho Scholarship, this project would have not been possible and I would like to express my deepest gratitude .

ABSTRACT Wood is embedded in Japanese culture. In regards to tradition, Japan’s utilisation of wood in art, architecture, furnishings and commerce, both aesthetically and economically are regarded as the quintessence of its craft in the Edo period. However, between the many catastrophic events which befell Tokyo in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the prioritisation of economic reform and rapid construction after the Second World War, preference was taken in the form of other building materials and styles, severing an alliance between nature and the city.

This study looks through all the key steps from felling of a tree to erection of a building, in an attempt to identity a supply and demand chain that can be developed to benefit Japan and its stakeholders. Applying the aesthetic and cultural links from an gone-by-era with modern manufacturing techniques to the sprawling mega-cities of Japan a new direction can be turned for the wood construction and housing industries. With state of the art prefabricated, wood engineering technology, a stream-lined, home-grown wood production capacity and lessons from the past, a wooden city can emerge from a new construction cycle.

Keywords: Japanese timber culture, mega-city, wood engineering, wood industry, prefabrication

CONTENTS

Introduction

A life of timber.............................................2-3 Purpose of the study....................................4 Research methodology.................................4-5

1 The Japanese city

1.1 Edo culture.............................................6-7

The origin point..................................8-9 Into the meiji.......................................9-10

1.2 Traditional living....................................11 Shoin and sukiya styles.......................11-12 The Minka ..........................................13-14

The Machiya .......................................14-16 The problem .......................................17-20

1.3 Images of Edo Japan ..............................20 Kiso Valley ..........................................21 Takayama .............................................22-23 Sawara ..................................................23

1.4 Images of 21st century Japan ..............24-26

Taito Ward ...........................................27

Shinjuku Ward ....................................27-39

Koto Ward ...........................................29-30 1.5 Proposed re-use ........................................30-35

2 The Timber city

2.1 A Timber heritage.....................................36-37 Wood as culture...................................37-39

2.2 Japan’s forestry...........................................40-42 Forestry stock......................................42-43

2.3 Wood Engineering Development .......44-45 CLT........................................................45-47

Distribution in Japan...........................48

2.4 Wood Supply Chain...................................49

Modern Wood Construction..............49-52

2.5 Proposed supply chain..............................52-55

3 The Prefab city

3.1 Structure of the mega city......................56-58 Lifestyle choices.................................58-60

3.2 Urban housing .........................................60-62 The first prefab house.........................62-64

3.3 Japan’s Prefabricated House builders.....64-67

Strengths ...........................................................67-70 Mass customization............................70

3.4 Prefabrication with engineered wood...71 Precut..................................................71 Panelized.............................................72 Modular..............................................72-74 Precedence..........................................74-76

3.5 Proposed CLT utilisation........................76-81

4 Japanese Timber Prefab

4.1 A Sustainable society...............................82-83

The price to pay...............................83-84 Which tree?.......................................84-85 4.2 A new Japanese timber building...........................86

The Japanese building.....................86-87

Modern Japanese design.................88-90

Mass customization of wood........90-91

4.3 The supply and demand chain...............91

Beneficiaries.....................................91-95

Conclusion

Moving forward...............................................96-97

Figures.................................................98-99 References.............................................99-101 Bibliography.........................................101-102 Interviews.............................................102-108

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INTRODUCTION

Figure 1: Hiroshige’s Clear Weather after Snow at Nihonbashi Bridge

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INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

A life of Timber

When the historic city name of Edo is mentioned, architectural images of wooden row houses lining narrow streets, arching wooden bridges and vast curving roofs of large scale temples and shrines come to mind. Scenes depicted in the famous Ukiyo-e scenes from renowned painter Hiroshige romantically portray a unifily designed city nestled among a Japanese traditional landscape.

(Figure 1) In twenty-first century Tokyo, very few traces remain of this nostalgic connection between low rise wooden architectural style and nature. Although Tokyo is unique in character, it lacks the beauty the city possessed in its former eras. With today’s great advancements in wood engineering, fireproofing, earthquake resistance and high rise building methods, it is the right time to re-introduce large scale wooden construction systems which fit together at an urban, rather than individual scale.

For wood construction to have a significant impact on the city, a large emphasis has to be placed on this idea of ‘scale’. To bring about a cultural change, a visible ‘Japanesque’ identity needs to be established across the city.

Paradoxically, the more wood visible appears in the city; the more intimate it becomes. Pekka Heikkinen, professor of wood construction in Aalto University explains how ‘imperfections bring out the individuality and humanity of wood’ and at the same time ‘generates a warm atmosphere’1.

The promotion of wood construction on an urban scale is being pushed forward by organizations such ‘Timberize’2 with the first 5-storey residential housing completed in 2012.3 For this change, the essence of wood craft must be exhibited as a keystone in Japan’s historic culture in wood. As with the traditional Machiya of Kanazawa, interior and exterior should reveal the building’s essence and cultural ideas embedded in the design, not disguised behind plastic façades. In addition to this all-encompassing utilisation of wood, Japanese traditionally favoured this material, so much that it was used 3

INTRODUCTION

in the construction of the ‘most prestigious buildings such as temples and palaces.’ 4 This prominence on wood construction is all but gone in modern building.

On the 11th of March 2011, the largest ever recorded earthquake in Japan

Purpose of the Study

struck the East coast. Only since the end of the Pacific war in 1945 has there been such a re-orientation in attitudes to lifestyles and the urban realm. A realisation has arisen among young architects and urban planners who are deeply involved with the disaster region. They have started to search for a vision of its future that is informed by necessity, one that moves beyond the conceptual smart/eco cities and utopias alone to propose links between forests, mountain, fishing and farming villages, countryside and cities. By looking at the wood construction system as a whole process stemming from the tree in the forest and the ideas behind the great ancient temples, the city can evolve into a more balanced environment. 5 Many mechanisms of harmonious living was lost with modernisation. It has not only affected the shape of city, but also people’s attitudes to living and nature. In return, sustainable forestry is losing its purpose along with the culture of wood craft. With modern technology, new attitudes and organisational systems, it is possibly once again to re-integrate this material into a modern mega-city.

How to identify what has been lost and what is needed in the city? This question will be answered by examining three aspects of Japanese urban typography, with particular attention to the metropolis of Tokyo in the first part. The first Chapter looks into the past to see how wood prevailed from classical to medieval civilization and into the modern era with specific attention to analysing characteristics of Edo period wooden dwellings and their manifestation into prefabricated housing and post-war housing.

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Research methodology

INTRODUCTION

Looking into iconic districts, the typology of housing and planning will be disseminated.

The following chapter analyses Japanese wooden heritage, its importance to the world and what should be learnt from it. Moving on from past achievements, the chapter divulges the current situation in the forestry and wood product industry, relating to its slow growth, reliance on imports and development of engineered products. Key problems and possible solutions are questioned in order to assess how remarkable wooden buildings can make their way back through Japan, while meeting modern demands.

Chapter 3 moves into the advanced production and design of prefabricated homes in Japan. Renown internationally for its advanced robotics and production lines, factory built homes are not exempt from this reputation.

Although the speed and quality of these homes is high, the high cost and clichĂŠd western designs are probed for a better solution adapted to Japanese heritage and culture. This leads to possibilities of implementing this tech into new forms of wood construction.

Through cross-examining the history, change, problem and needs of wood and wood construction as part of a supply chain in Japan, assumptions can begin to be made about its future. The final chapter of this study pieces everything together, proposing possible solutions through a sustainable cycle from forest to construction material to city. ‘The cities of Nara and Kyoto were built more than 1000 years ago but they are superb no matter how often we visit them. It would be disappointing if, when science and learning today have made such progress, we could not do better than Nara and Kyoto.’6

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FIGURE 2: The city of Edo 1844

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1.1 EDO CULTURE: BEGINNING AND END Edo, the Era of refinement of Japanese architecture is the first point of departure in this study. The structure of Edo’s origins can be said to be influenced by the positioning of Mt. Tsukuba and Mt. Fuji. The northern Edo district of Tokiwabashi was laid out in the direction of Mt. Fuji while the road from Kyobashi to Nihombashi was laid out in the direction of Mt. Tsukuba. These allowed views of both mountains from the city districts.

Beyond this, by examining a map of the Edo Metropolis from the 1840s, a distinctive zoning between the eastern merchants quarters of shitamachi stemming from Nihonbashi and western housing of yamanote.7 At the core of the city the imperial palace and grounds tie both sides together [Figure 2]. Throughout Japanese history, it is the re-occurrence of natural disasters primarily from earthquakes and fires which have accelerated the progress of urban redevelopment; a country of rejuvenation.

Edo was the name of the capital of Japan from 1603 to 1868 before it changed its name to Tokyo, holding the central power of the of the Tokugawa shogunate. It was in the latter part of the 18th century and early 19th, that Edo most likely commanded the title of the largest city in the world with a population over a million, in comparison to the largest city in Europe; London which had a population standing under a million. 8 The current day metropolis of Tokyo continues to hold this record with its population of 36,923,000.9 The historian, scholar and well acclaimed Japanese literature translator; Edward Seidensticker, depicts the city of Tokyo in the advent of great western modernization through the categorization of ‘Low city’ and ‘High City’.

Low city (下町) shitamachi in Japanese refers to the plebeian flat lands and high city（山手)yamanote is in reference to the hilly, intellectual ruling class.

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Seidensticker argued that the life of the low city produced and held what was “original in the culture of Edo”10 From the picturesque wood block prints of Edo by Hiroshige, a uniform, organised and holistic wooden city can be re-imagined. The romantic wood cuts of wooden bridges, screens, merchant streets eclipsed by the curves of Mount Fuji were often idealised from the location of Nihonbashi. The low city’s soul lay in the markets and residences of Nihonbashi. Seidensticker romanticizes that “in 1895, we are told, or in 1912, Edo finally departed and only Tokyo remained.” He elaborates on the point that in modern day Tokyo, the differentiation between low city and high city is still apparent, concluding “that even today something of Edo survives.” 11 Therefore in order to understand the ‘atmosphere’ of Edo culture and wood architecture, an analysis of the low city wards must begin with Nihonbashi.

The most famous highway of the Edo period; the Tokaido highway, spanning from Kyoto and Osaka, crossing kyobashi bridge before terminating at Nihonbashi both form part of the modern day chuo ward. Seidensticker explains how Nihonbashi acted as the heart of commercial Edo and as a result profited greatly. The movement of time into the Meiji period transformed it into a contrast of foreign and traditional influence. The modern structures of the government offices, financial institutions and department stores neighbouring nihonbashi were instantly contrasted to the north eastern sector of the fish market.

Seidensticker notes how even in late Meiji ‘little of the modern and Western’ showed in the fish market. Sitting upon the original reclaimed land from the marsh, it utilised canal systems for trade. Even nature was incorporated into this busy sector. Imported loam from the hillsides was used to make mossy gardens between the wooden structures. These were also incorporated into houses and gardens for the middle class in the surrounded area.12 Further into Meiji period, the more affluent moved eastwards allowing a housing for 8

The origin point

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the working class to spread to Nihombashi. The carpeting of low roofs actually increased during this period, reinforcing this idea of ‘low city Edo’.

Seidensticker suggests that prior to the earthquake of 1923, Nihombashi retained the greatest volume of edo style architecture in Tokyo; the earthquake of 1923 all but annihilated this image.

If you walk across Nihombashi today, overshadowed by the 1960s constructed express-way, you would be hard pressed to find any low rise or wooden construction among the grand department stores of Coredo Marunouchi and the historic structure of Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi (nation’s first official modern depa rtment store).13 Once the heart of Edo and Meiji Shitamachi, now only memorials and museums remain as a reminder.

Into the Meiji

The Edo and Meiji Eras are intertwined through many cultural aspects related to architecture and lifestyle that combined and expanded Edo traditions and imported western ones. Much romantic nostalgia is associated with Edo in contrast to Meiji, however this shift in time allowed a release from the old repressive regime.

The beginning of the Meiji period in 1868 initiated a move towards Japan’s modernization and miraculous economic growth. After the shift of governing powers and catastrophic earthquake in 1923 many visionaries imagined the potential for a new modern city. Even the famous Japanese novelist Jun’ichirō Tanizaki had a ‘famous vision after the earthquake of what the rebuilt city would be like.’14 Great intellectuals of the time held great optimism for the potential of the city.

Despite these early changes, the low city’s structural and cultural dominance possessed under the Tokugawa governance remained.

It was not

modernization which eradicated it but the flames proceeding from the 1923 earthquake. Seidensticker describes the extent of the devastation in late Meiji, 9

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clarifying that out of the 15 wards that made up the city, not a single ward was left unscathed. The approximate destruction of the worst affected 5 wards was over 90%, located along the Sumida and bay area; home to the Low city. The heart of Edo culture, housing merchants and artisans virtually disappeared.15 The carefully crafted city row houses were designed to withstand the great forcefulness of earthquakes but wooden fire resistance technology at the time was near non-existent. The timing of the great Kanto earthquake coincided with the preparation of lunch on fire stoves throughout the city at 11:58:44 a.m, resulting in outbreaks of fires throughout the city (Seidensticker 2001). The devastation not only changed the city but also people’s attitude to the use of wood in the city. From that point onwards the city shifted toward an irreversible direction.

“As a result of the more than 90 serious fires, as well as the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and firebombing during World War II, very little remains of the original architecture of Edo”.16

Classical Japan

Medieval Japan

Pre-modern Japan

Key Historic periods in Japan1 Asuka Nara

538–710 710-794

Heian

794-1185

Kamakura Muromachi

1185–1333 1333–1568

Azuchi–Momoyama

1568–1600

Edo

1615-1868

FIGURE 3: Ages with traditional architectural advancements

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1.2 TRADITIONAL LIVING Taking a step back from modern Tokyo and looking back to the development of Japanese architecture, a gradual change in styles can be identified. From Classical to pre-modern Japan, over 1000 years of architectural development has converged to take final form in the refined, idealistic style of Sukiya.

Influences from China, internal political strife and late enclosure from the word has created an extraordinary refined architectural process. The residential style commonly associated with the traditional Edo house, is one based on the shoin and sukiya styles. Originally for aristocratic homes, these features in the late Edo era were incorporated into more common wealthy families such as in merchant machiya.17 Architect Kengo Kuma speaks of wood ‘as a sufficiently beautiful’ 18 material, as a structural system, requiring no covering with other materials. He criticizes the culture of ornamentation and skin to show capitalistic wealth. In contrast, Kuma praises the Japanese refinement of timber construction over thousands of years and the detailed characteristics which follow it. Much of these features are referenced in the typical Sukiya and Shoin style traditional house.

Shoin and sukiya

The Shoin style was developed during the classical prosperity of the Heian prior to the feudal system of the 12th century and time of war. Many shoin style ideas are derived from earlier Chinese-style Buddhist architecture, however during this period in time, they started to form their own distinctive Japanese elements. With the emergence of Zen Buddhism, simplicity and control became important design aesthetics and started to shift away from previous strict Chinese informed styles.

The ‘shoin’ is a name for the study room in a residential complex. Key features of this style include the design of the tokonama, chigaidama, chodaigame, slding shoji, fusuma and amado. One of the more prominent deviations from 11

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earlier Chinese-style Buddhist architecture, is the treatment of the courtyard and garden in relation to the private quarters. The walled-in gravelled courtyard near the entrance of the compound was moved toward the private residential areas and filled with a garden, with a stronger relation between study and living rooms to nature. The arrangement of the building became more fluid, no longer following symmetry and simple veranda connections but through attaching smaller buildings onto the corners of previous ones to create a zigzag effect.19 The warring states period in Japan during the medieval period, restricted the development of architectural styles, however in the final years of this war in the Azuchi–Momoyama the refinement of styles continued. Daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1587 employed the tea master Sen no Rikyu to design what is considered to be the first example of sukiya-zukuri architecture, known as the Coloured Shoin.20 This strong bond between the building, path and garden becomes at its most elaborate in the sukiya style. In a sense, since the introduction of Chinese style architecture in the 6th century, the refinement of Japanese architecture came to its epitome in the Edo period. After this point, the industrialisation and implementation of Western styles halted the development of this style at a large scale. The period of closed borders (sakoku) although seen as a period of strict social order, control and restriction of wealth by the rigid feudal Japanese military government, it also encouraged the refinement of all Japanese arts and craft.

The sukiya started to implement ideas from the previous shoin style in aristocratic residential complexes not just formal buildings. The framing of views toward elaborate gardens and the zigzagging verandas take particular emphasis. In relation to the structure, it became lighter, placing emphasis on the detailing of materials such as in the fusuama and engawa.21 12

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FIGURE 4: Steep thatched minka of Shirakawago

FIGURE 5: The iconic machiya row houses of Kanazawa

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The house of the people. Minka are the traditional homes of the working

Minka

class giving shelter to artisans, farmers and merchants in medieval Japan.

Using natural materials surrounding the homes, they mainly consisted of local wood from the mountains.

An abundance in this resource and the need for homes allowed carpenters to hone their skills building from town to town, passing skills down generations.

The diversity of minka is exemplified by the broad typography it covers and the climatic settings across Japan. The varying architectural styles arose from the demand to meet local climatic and geographic conditions.

These climatic conditions are reflected by the fact that Japan covers over 20 degrees of latitude. Looking at the far south western part of the Japanese archipelago in Nagasaki, the minka have a roof with a u-shaped plan and thick walls to withstand typhoons in the port city. In central Japan, in the prefecture of Gifu, the minka have steeped roofs resembling hands held in prayer [Figure 4]. They helped prevent heavy snow gathering in the winter months.22 Although the lowest in the Edo social class, merchants accumulated much wealth in the latter part of the Era. Wealthy merchants started to invest in the construction of multi-functional, complex machiya based on the principles of Sukiya and Shoin styles. Architect and Professor Mira Locker explains how this form of housing was not common until the Muromachi period (1334-1573 ). Narrow land plots in the city, led to the development of terraced machiya housing the shop face at the front and residential backyard areas directly connected together.23 More luxurious machiya used courtyards to separate living spaces from sanitary facilities and store houses with the use of longer earthen floored corridors.

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Machiya

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Characteristics

Surrounding the exposed post and beam wooden structure of the traditional house are a number of common features which have been modified over a long history to create a style characterized by refined elegance. Some of these distinctive elements are as follows:

HISASHI WINDOWS AND DOORS

FUSUMA RAMMA

This is the Japanese name for the eaves projecting around the peripheral areas of the house covering entrance gateways, verandas and outhouses.

Windows are floor to top beam panels which slide on adjacent tracks.

The external track supports wooden panels for security and weather protection. The rear panels can consist of glass, latticed and shoji frames.

The interior sliding doors are frames covered with heavy paper and sometimes can be detailed in paint or intricate wooden latticed patterns.

The Fusuma does not touch the ceiling, therefore above the doors, there can be decorative grills placed for ventilation called ramma.

ENGAWA

The transition between interior and exterior space is particularly important in Japanese architecture. This is facilitated through the use of elevated verandas called engawa surrounding courtyards and leading to the separated bathing facilities.

GENKAN

This entrance is always from the ground level, allowing space to leave shoes before entering the interior rooms. This is considered public space and an extension of the outside.

TOKONOMA

Recessed alcoves are raised in the corners of the rooms usually covered in wood or tatami for the purpose of seasonal display or exhibition.

KIWARIJUTSU / TATAMI

The measurement system used for room sizes depended on the number of tatami mats. This affected the dimensions of lumber used in the room in a traditional construction system called kiwarijutsu.

STAIRS / LADDERS COURTYARD / GARDEN

Narrow stairs and ladders were used for access to upper levels with sometimes draws located beneath for space saving purposes.

The structure of the garden enclosure can vary from a simple fence to a thick wall and gate with a roof. The environment created through the passage from gate to interior space is a purifying process. Returning to ones home could be said to be a ritual in some sense. Many different forms of stimuli are inserted in the garden varying from rocks, water, shrubs, and lanterns to stone or gravel curved paths. The garden is not just for passage but for also observing from important parts of the home.

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FIGURE 6: Various traditional features of Japanese machiya

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The problem

Aswell as there being a problem with future wooden construction, there is one with exisitng buildings. As of 2020, there are predicted to be 10 million empty homes across the archipelago according to the Japanese economist and real estate consultant Tomohiro Makino.. Akiya, the Japanese word for empty house is the focus of this analysis in his book “Akiya Mondai”.24 Although this term refers to all types of housing Japan, when focussing on the traditional minka type, the number is less but still a staggering amount. A report by the Development Bank of Japan counts 211,437 empty minka in 2015 and this number is steadily rising.25 Some of the most iconic machiya are in Kyoto due to their density and proximity to famous temples. The wooden architecture from the Edo period captivates the imagination of millions of tourists. As one of the top visited cities in Japan, Kyoto offers a unique experience hard to find anywhere else conveniently in Japan. Despite this, even the iconic homes of Kyoto are under risk of demolition.

Financial, regulatory and maintenance issues have been ravaging the upkeep and use of the Kyoto town house. In a survey conducted by the Kyoto center for community collaboration in 2003, almost 13% of machiya in Kyoto between 1996 and 2003 were reported to be destroyed.26 With an additional 13% of homes in Kyoto empty, including thousands of machiya , this situation poses a serious problem. Japanese homes although popular abroad, are often neglected in Japan, with preference driven toward western style, modern, convenient and low maintenance homes. Post-war, cheap and convenient apartments in the city have overtaken the minimalist, wooden appearance of minka In an interview with the award winning Japanese Architect Tetsuo Furuichi, he despaired about how “Nearly all of our great native architecture has vanished.

What people want now is European-American style.” In reference to his large book about Traditional Japanese Houses, he comments that “Most of the houses depicted in this book, which records our best old homes, have gone for ever.”27 Why this 17

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trend is occurring is important. Mitsumura Shuiko Shoin identifies a number of reasons in his book ‘Machiya Revival in Kyoto’, through an attempt to revive them. The key factors are: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Cost of maintenance and renovation Earthquake renovation Outdated life-style Surrounding high rise cause problems Upkeep costs Difficulty in renovation Inheritance tax

The survey in the book revealed that over 40% of machiya residents said that being surrounded by high rise buildings caused difficulties. This issue was surpassed by the cost of renovation and earthquake resistance/ fire proofing, whereby 50% of those survey complained about this.28

In an attempt to

tackle this issue, the government is trying to deal with disappearing towns, villages and homes through various groups, charities and local communities.

This works by promoting the preservation and use of these old town houses to prevent their destruction and by offering subsidies and incentives. One example of such an organisation is The Kyo-machiya Development Fund.

The aim is to promote the preservation, restoration and utilization of machiya through private donations.

If a resident wishes to renovate their

machiya instead of destroying it, they are given a grant. This public-private cooperative agency set up in 2005 has been working ever since to save as much of Kyoto heritage as possible. In situations where machiya cannot be saved from destruction, material and structures can be reclaimed and used in modern buildings. This gives the new building a unique characteristic making a design with modern facilities to create a unique fusion between past and present. Kengo Kuma, the architect of the new Tokyo Olympic stadium designed a wooden 4-story Onsen utilizing reclaimed wood from the 100 year old hotel which used to stand in its place [Figure 7 and 8]. The result is one which creates a modern luxurious feel with a touch of nostalgia.29 18

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FIGURE 7 (above) and FIGURE 8 (top right): Ginzan hotspring hotel by Kengo Kuma Kyoto

FIGURE 9 (above) and FIGURE 10 (bottom right): resort hotel by Good Design Works

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The method promoted by many initiatives, is conversation. In cases where clients are not looking to live in a machiya due to the inconvenience of outdated design, tourists are often willing to live in this kind of accommodation for exactly those reasons. It is becoming increasingly popular to convert old machiya into hotels or ryokan for tourists to experience ‘traditional’ Japan.

Other investors have transformed machiya into stylish modern cafes, restaurants, and shops.

A local kyoto architectural company called Good Design Works, renovated a entire row of traditional town-houses into a resort hotel. [Figure 9 and 10] This maintains the neighbourhood atmosphere and unique narrow lanes.30 Nine houses are divided into separate apartments, housing lanes, individual modern facilities and courtyard gardens. A sense of ‘old town kyoto’ nostalgia is created through the collection.

1.3 IMAGES OF EDO JAPAN Of the Edo period cities, Edo was the largest but both Kyoto and Osaka held great importance and housed a sizable population. Kyoto had a population of 410,000 in 1634, forming a centre of quality arts, crafts and tourism, while Osaka, similar in size, was an industrial centre for daily products.

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The centralized feudalist system of the time increased the need for transport and travel throughout the country, particularly along the Tokaido and Nakasendo road. This led to a number of smaller towns to service the travellers, catering both to the daimyo and their retainers and lower ranking people. Kiso valley is home to many preserved post towns today (Nishi, K., Hozumi, 2012).

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Larger castle towns were also developed to cater to the Feudal lords of the area. The design of a castle town was laid out in zones, with the castle at the centre, samurai quarters surrounding it, followed by merchant and living quarters.

The temples acted as an outer line of defence, where beyond lay

the underprivileged quarters. Administrative towns such as Takayama, port towns such as Nagaski, mining towns such as Aikwa and Temple/shrine towns such as Uji developed as well in the Edo Era, all with their own distinctive styles.

A few settlements which embrace examples of such sophisticated

wooden architectural imagery are summarised in the next section in order to act as a reminder of the architectural feats possible in wood.

Kiso Valley

Kiso valley is a famous route through the mountains of Nagano. It was part of the Nakasendo highway in the Edo period. A post town was a settlement developed along these roads to cater to the needs of the travellers. Kiso valley contains 11 of such post towns.32 The gradual desertions of these post towns are due to young people moving to the cities. The development of new high ways later inspired numerous restoration programs to preserve the historic Edo atmosphere of these towns. One of the strongest representation of a post town from 100 years ago is the town of Tsumago [Figure 11].

The simple outpost town consists of row houses lining either side of a three to four meter road, boasting charming old qualities such as latticed fronts and plank roofs weighted down with rocks. Many of the houses are homogeneous and confirm to a strict style dictated by officials of the feudal government to preserve the status quo.

However, this uniformity is not completely absent of small ornamental variations which provide a charming and idealist Edo period town.33 Looking down the faรงades and along the rooftop perimeter lines, there is a great fluctuation in heights and shapes.34 Off the well trodden main road, stem off a series of smaller, delightful alleys between the houses.

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After the preservation and tourist campaign in Tsumago, the number of tourist catering businesses exploded from three in 1967 to ninety-five in 1975. 35 In spite of the increasing number of visiting tourists, the population stayed steady with the properties run by some of the same families since the nineteenth century. An ancestral property movement was invoked through the residents signing a document vowing not to sell, lease or demolish their houses. Although the buildings preserved in Tsumago dating from the early 20th century, the wooden townscape is nothing like it’s contemporary counterparts making it a remarkable historical asset.

Takayama, the headquarters for the representatives of the shogun in the Edo period was renowned for its highly skilled carpentry work, temples, sake breweries and traditional homes [Figure 12]. The origins of these carpentry skills are a result of the villages of Hida (modern Gifu) being required to send ten artisans to help build Nara in the place of taxes which they could not afford (Nishi, K., Hozumi, 2012).

Takayama is the only administrative town preserved from the Edo period.

During that period, the town benefited from prosperous business ventures in the production of sake and miso production, lending money and selling rice and tobacco. Many of these sake shops and luxury merchant houses are preserved today. Although a second floor was forbidden to prevent inhabitants looking down on samurai on the streets below, wealthy merchants used intricate post and beam systems to supported massive roofs for the effect of grandeur. 36 In the social class enacted by the Edo Shogunate, merchants ranked lower than artisans and farmers. According to neo-confucian ideology, workers who did not create or craft with their hands were considered of lower status.

Despite this, the huge amount of trade which took place in the Hida district resulted in a number of merchant families becoming wealthy and socially 22

Takayama

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independent. The Yoshijima family is one such example who displayed their success through the work of the famous carpenter Nishida Isaburo. The house is split with the shop at the front and double floor living at the back.

The shop area and dining area boasts a double storey wooden lattice over the earthen and tatami mat flooring for which the home is famous for.37 Sakura, Narita, Sawara, and Choshi are four cities that supported and grew

Sawara

together with Edo during the medieval period in Japan. These cities still hold important aspects of Edo culture, influenced by neighbouring Edo, yet developed independently and weren’t swallowed up by the modern day metropolitan city.38 Of these cities, Sawara town in the prefecture of Chiba neighbouring Tokyo, is one of the best preserved from the Edo period which both prospered as a point of transportation for rice shipments into Edo and survived fires and wars.

Sawara’s emblematic canals have given it comparison to streets of Kanazawa and earned it the name of “Little Edo”[Figure 13]. The canal district which houses traditional residences, merchant facilities and store houses from the Edo Period all remain intact to create an authentic atmosphere.39

FIGURE 11 - 13 (from left to right) Sawara, Tsumago and Takayama streetscapes

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1.4 21st CENTURY TOKYO The progression from the Edo two-storey merchant house (町屋) and row house （長屋), to 20th century housing is one marked by a conflict between the need to modernise, while retaining a Japanese way of living. The unique urban situation of 21st Tokyo has many defining characteristics which are continuous developed over. If these features could be combined with Japan’s historic use of wood and aesthetic style then a truly futuristic Japanese city could be erected.

The introduction of wooden structures into the urban realm goes beyond the idea of ‘urban beautification’. It is a cultural appeasement toward a city, stripped from much of its architectural heritage. European cities such as Venice, Paris and Prague are often called upon as some of the most beautiful cities in the world.40 Each city has a certain uniqueness which makes it ‘beautiful’ however what they all have in common is some sense of uniformity and historical embodiment. Applying this theory to Japan, cities and towns such as Kyoto and Kanazawa come to mind.

Each of the wooden structures are combined to create a harmonious streetscape but individually they have their own character and nuanced wooden façades. In many respects, Tokyo’s lack of uniformity gives it a distinctive character but what if wood could be reintroduced at an urban scale as in the days of Edo, within the exciting fabric of the city? A environmental, cultural and planned city could be revived. Images associated with the city of Tokyo typically revolve around factors such as small houses, low rise buildings, irregular façades and design styles. A few defining features are elaborated upon below.

Until 1963, Tokyo had a height limit of just under 31 meters. When this height limit was raised, the result was the erection of hundreds of towers, 24

Low city

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capitalising on the ability to produce large amounts of apartments cheaply but without much personality. Developers and architects designed buildings not to be unique, but rather to hold maximum profitability. With this said, 2-storey homes still dominate the landscape of Tokyo, scattered among the towers. Low rise and low density housing populates metropolitan Tokyo.

From the outset, developing from a series of small fishing villages, no overall master plan for Tokyo was ever introduced. The small lots of land rarely changed sizes and the prominence of private ownership often prevents lots being combined for larger buildings such as high rise buildings. Districts such as in Kyojima in Sumida ward, display narrow, old wooden homes weaving along the 18th century farming plan.

Temporary city

Destruction and reconstruction of Tokyo has been a frequent part of city life since its growth from a humble fishing village. Earthquakes, typhoons, city fires and firebombing are few of the disasters which have devastated the city in the past. Although Tokyo has always recovered, it has left a long lasting mentality that buildings are not long-lasting. The consequential result is that this short-term mentality, enables Japan to experiment with the occasional radical and sometimes bizarre designs. A house often loses all value after 30 years with only land retaining any worth.41 This means home builders don’t design with resale capabilities in mind. New owners typically tear down the previous home and design exactly what they prefer. This can have positive consequences for creative architects and home buyers however typically in commercial architecture, attention is paid to profitability, construction costs, and low maintenance rather than design ambition.

Distributed city

Lacking a city master plan, Tokyo did not develop concentrically despite its origins from Nihonbashi. On the contrary, many centres were gradually established, which converged into one city. Many capitals such as Hong Kong and London developed their identity and business centre along the waterfront, however in the case of Tokyo Bay it is not quite the same. Sumida 25

CHAPTER 1: THE JAPANESE CITY

forms one of the main city rivers, however other narrow rivers did not allow the surrounding to develop. In the Edo period, canals in the sumida-gawa district did contain many urban developments, but these were soon filled in following the modernization of the city. In contrast, in the 20th century, the train stations became the veins of the city and centres for development.

Tokyo’s miraculous modernization began in the Meiji era, with the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. This was a time when the population boom commenced with the end of the Second World War, following an influx of evacuees, returning soldiers and desperate job seekers flooding from parts of the devastated country. Tokyo’s rapid expansion in the 1940s and 50s took no consideration of a unified city aesthetic.

Modern Japan

Meiji Taisho

1868-1912 1912-1826

Showa

1926-1988

Heisei

1989-present

Figure 14: Historic periods in Japan

The sense and scale of space in Tokyo are strikingly unique when compared to other metropolitan capitals in the world. The jumble of low-rise, dense post-war wooden houses, rebuilt temples and shrines and modern high rise steel structures creates an array of intermediate volumes and streets. It is surprising to find in such a gigantic city, such a variety of intimate spaces.

Particularly, in the downtown areas (下町) many dense single spaces, social establishments provide a nostalgic, intimate and atmospheric service.

42

Criticised by architects of the 1960s as the “world’s largest village”43, Tokyo appears as a disarrayed jumble of mismatching houses and towers juxtaposed in a variety of styles and materials. Numerous districts in the eastern part of Tokyo are renown for old wooden houses that are scattered across the streets.

26

Old city

CHAPTER 1: THE JAPANESE CITY

In contrast to the absence of historic architecture in modern day Nihonbashi, one of the strongest presences of the ‘shitamachi’ atmosphere remains in the northern end of the Tokyo. One of the primary drivers for areas like Yanaka retaining the name of ‘shitamachi’ is that it came through remarkable untouched by the 1923 earthquake and the 1945 bombings.

Taito Ward

Toward the end of the Meiji period, Toyko residents would have regarded ‘Asakusa and Shitaya wards, the latter incorporating Ueno’ as the northern limit of Low City.44 Tokyo has greatly grown southward and westward from the 1950s onward. This has created a belief that the northern and eastern reaches belong to the Low City. On the contrary in the Meiji period it was of the High City. As the temple lands were reduced, the surrounded areas became favoured by intellectuals.

Among the old districts of Taito-ku, Yanesan is home to one of the best preserved and most historic areas dating back to the Edo period. The preservation of this historic atmosphere can be accredited to the luck that it survived the fire bombing of the second world war fully intact. It is a collective of three neighbourhoods, including Yanaka, Sendagi and Nezu.

A miscellany called the ‘Yanesen Alley Encyclopedia’ create by a neighbourly environment study group in Tokyo, documented 20 alleys and their properties which met their criteria of a typical communal district as part of a preservation campaign. These attributes were outlined in Figure 15.

Shinjuku Ward

Shinjuku, regarded as the ‘Yamanote’ upper part of Tokyo in the Edo Era now contains the busiest station in the world45 and some of Tokyo’s tallest buildings. In spite of these great construction feats, some remnants of the past remain. The district of Kabukichou in Shinjuku houses the infamous bars of ‘golden gai’. Limited to a network of just six narrow alleys, it contains over 200 small, shack like bars and eateries. The district is reminiscent of the 27

CHAPTER 1: THE JAPANESE CITY

FIGURE 15 (above) Yanesen Alley Encyclopedia

FIGURE 16 (above) Typical downtown features in Tokyo

28

CHAPTER 1: THE JAPANESE CITY

post war Showa Era neighbourhoods of Tokyo, where the majority of the city resembled such tight, wooden quarters. The preservation of this humble setting is juxtaposed to the skyscrapers and steel office buildings booming from the late 20th century, standing as a testament to Japan’s economic miracle.

Historically, the black market area of Tokyo during the post war years, it is now a area associated with musicians and artists.

Some of the go-between passageways allow for single-person access and the narrow staircases leading to second floor establishments create an incredibly intimate and maze like experience. With individual buildings spanning from four to six meters, the limited seating and dim-lit, make-shift appearance, it attracts many artistic regulars. The juxtaposition to the neighbouring Hanazono Shrine and local ward office, makes for a curious setting.

Golden Gai’s association with illegal activity lasted long into the late 20th century. In 1958 prostitution was outlawed, by then Golden Gai was made the new home for illegal prostitution moving from Shinjuku 2-chome district, following its years as a black market.

46

Although a very different kind of

atmosphere in comparison to Tokyo’s shitmachi areas, the history of intimate human interaction among the narrow alleys and two rooms houses of Golden Gai, adds to a different kind of buoyant atmosphere.

Koto Ward

Fukugawa lies within the modern day ward of Koto. It was one of the most water abundant districts in Edo, with it’s proximity to the bay and sprawling canals. This allowed for the great containment of lumber-yards in the city in this area utilising the canals as transport systems. Its wealth was one on par with that of the mercantile power of Nihombashi. Fukagawa in the late meiji period, on the whole comprised of more wooden bridges than any other ward with 128 in total.47 Monzen-nakacho is a relatively small neighbourhood in the Fukagawa district of Koto Ward on the eastern side of the Sumida River. It is most famous for housing the Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine and 29

CHAPTER 1: THE JAPANESE CITY

Fukagawa Fudoson Temple. Among the high rise concrete offices which have developed around the area, a large amount of low-rise timber housing and drinking establishments still remain.

One intriguing example is a ‘shitamachi style pub’ located near the remnants of Edo-period canals. Open to the main street but yet sheltered on the corner of a side street, it is nestled among high rise modern building creating an enthralling juxtaposition. This stereotypical bar and grilled meat restaurant is built on a small stretch of land typical of Tokyo street layout. The Kitchens are narrow, long bar tables surround them and onto the street, creating an open plan between staff, customers and public realm.48 This fusion between interior and exterior along the side street is the main reason why the atmosphere feels incredibly casual and intimate [Figure 1718]. The ‘no fuss’ informal outdoor drinking space with make-shift tables act as an extension to the interior L-shaped table bar. Accommodating approximately a dozen customers side by side, with staff a hand stretch away, a lively atmosphere is ensued. As Tokyo grows, it is important to not lose the human scale and informality of spaces like the one described, as they form an important part of the cultural heritage.

1.5 PROPOSED RE-USE How Tokyo’s unique structure and juxtaposition can welcome a stronger link to its wood culture? One idea is through connecting Japan’s abandoned machiya and modern homes. Homes hold memories of people, places and events. Through the craft and material used to make unique machiya, these memories are immortalised. There is value within these structures even if not recognised by all. Convenience and modernization cannot be neglected 30

CHAPTER 1: THE JAPANESE CITY

FIGURE 17: Analysis of a post-war establishment in contrast to its modern surroundings

FIGURE 18: A ‘showa’ style bar in Monzennakacho, Tokyo

31

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in the development of homes as they must meet current lifestyles. However, through combining these neglected, unique structures within modern housing envelopes, a paradoxically fusion can occur. Examining the value placed on cultural assets, it can be interpreted that adding a 18th century piece of carpentry to a modern house will add aesthetic, monetary and cultural value.

Taking the exquisite wooden lattice work from homes such as in Takayama’s Yoshijima house [Figure 19], one can see how it could act as a remarkable centrepiece.

Many of these structures across the country are over a

century old and utilised wood which is no longer available due to their thick dimensions. In addition to this, the skills used to craft such masterpieces are rapidly disappearing, making them even more invaluable.

There are many negative aspects to living in such old houses, elaborated on earlier on in the chapter. One of the greatest drawbacks are the lack of modern facilities and the poorly insulated envelope against the heat and cold.

Through the process of building a modern earthquake proof, fire resistant and highly insulated housing envelope and combing with a visible interior roof structure all positive qualities can be melded into one [Figure 20].

The 200,000 empty minka scattered across Japan are occasionally sought out by enthusiasts who dismantle, move and rebuild them with modern facilities somewhere new. By applying a similar strategy to the interior roof structure to modern homes in Tokyo, a heritage of wood craft can be saved and brought back to life. The efficiency of a modern home with the nostalgic value of the edo era adds to a sense of authenticity.

32

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FIGURE 19: Wooden lattice of Yoshijima house in Takayama

FIGURE 20: Schematics of reclaimed roof lattice and modern building envelope

33

CHAPTER 1: THE JAPANESE CITY

A basic approach to finding and incorporating old structures into modern buildings would be through: •

Identifying abandoned minka with impressive structures

•

Minka dismantling

•

Scanning and modelling old structures

•

Providing structural members and technical drawings as a product

•

Providing as part of a modern home or as a product

1.

The structural components

According to Japanese real-estate old wooden houses are often worthless with only the land retaining value. Locating and purchasing the physical home is of lower cost than the land. Only the core structure will be focussed upon for re-use.

2.

3D model

With a suitable structure located and purchased, a 3D laser scanner can be made of the whole house and structural components. This model is important for advertising, rebuilding and making designs incorporated the old structure [Figure 21]. These components can be later be added to the prefab and mass customized factories proposed in the last chapter.

This first chapter delved into the culture of wood and changes to the city of Tokyo. The next chapter moves towards the specifics of the forestry and wood products industry, the beginning part of the chain. In order to make an effective wood cycle, this part is essential. The link between culture, supply and demand is vital for it to survive.

34

The approach

CHAPTER 1: THE JAPANESE CITY

FIGURE 21: Schematic design of structural reclamation form an 18th century minka

35

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

FIGURE 22: Iconic Kyoto

36

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

2.1 TIMBER HERITAGE Wood is one of the oldest building materials known to man. Utilized both aesthetically and economically in art, housing, furnishings and trade, the accumulated knowledge of this material is overwhelming. There are 20 properties inscribed on the Japanese Unesco world heritage site list. From this list, 16 are listed as cultural properties and 4 as natural ones. What is important to note, is that from these 16 cultural properties, 10 of them are constructed primarily from wood in the form of shrines, temples or castles.

49

Whether the progress of time improves the art of wood craft is disputable.

Looking back 1200 years to the ancient Japanese capital of Nara, where a complex of masterfully designed timber temples and pagodas were raised.

To this day, these structures stand as a symbol of the great minds and hands of Japan. In continental Asia, Japan has the third largest number of Unesco world heritage with India and China holding the fast majority. However, considering the relative size and populations of these countries, Japan holds a significant number of heritage properties per capita.

Wood as culture

The very first properties to be listed by UNESCO were the Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji area [Figure 23], all constructed from wood with some dating as far back as the late 7th or early 8th century, competing with some of the oldest surviving wooden buildings in the world. Other wooden marvels include the tallest wooden building in Japan. The Daibutsu Hall in Todaiji Temple [Figure 24] stands at 48 meters and houses a 250 ton, 30 meter tall bronze buddha.50 In contrast, the current tallest wooden residential complex in Japan is only 5 stories high with a concrete first floor completed by KUS architects.51 Japan’s rich history of large and numerous wooden construction is not reflected in the urban scale of modern wood construction in Japan.

There are numerous factor’s for this decline which

will be discussed in later sections, but with a current government endorsed 37

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

promotion of large public wooden buildings and use of engineered wood, the potential for a reinvigorated wooden city exists.

When gazing upon any of the great temples of Japan, one element which always gives an awe-inspiring impression, is the roof. It is the characteristic curved shape and intricate bracket complexes which define this skill of Japanese carpentry. The development of such intricacies and expertise with wood is as much a reflection of a philosophical affinity, as a functional one.

In order to prevent this affinity with wood from being locked away in the past, it must be lived with in the current day through its thoughtful use in contemporary wooden buildings.

These buildings must continue the tradition of holding knowledge and culture through a continuation of use and not just replication or preservation. The enormous advances in construction technology, digital systems and wood engineering should be exploited to the fullest in order to meet the modern demands of urban life both on a social and cultural level.

It is necessary for construction to keep momentum with the demands of modern urban development, without sacrificing all the wisdom and values embedded in Japan’s long history hidden of wood construction. Austria, Switzerland and Germany are known globally to utilise some of the most sophisticated wood technology available, while Japan’s reputation with wood is only left in history. Japanese Pritzker prize winning architect, Shigeru Ban, acknowledges how “Japan’s excessive regulations have no doubt prevented advances in the country’s already outdated timber construction technology”.52 Such a country, rich with wood heritage and culturally respecting citizens can appreciate new developments in the industry. New updated construction systems and designs must be introduced, to bring Japan’s wood architecture once again to the forefront.

38

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FIGURE 23: The ancient skyline of the Hōryūji from the 5th century

FIGURE 24: Daibutsu Hall, Nara

Figure 25: UNESCO world heritage sites by country

39

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

2.2 JAPAN’S FORESTRY Japan, with 68.5% of the country forested,53 is not lacking the raw resource of timber. It can be seen that Japan’s forestry stock is still expanding while remaining underutilized. The self-sufficiency ratio of wood was 31.2% in 2014, exceeding 30% for the first time in 26 years. 54 However the Current State of Japanese Forestry Industry in Japan has been stagnant due to its low profitability primarily arising from difficulties in harvesting mountainous regions and demand for larger volumes.

Listed under the Annual 2014 Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), numerous issues holding back the wood industry have been identified. Some of the mains reasons of low productivity of forestry activities are due to, structural characteristics of small-scaled forest ownership dominance, low level of coordination and consolidation of forestry practice, underdevelopment of forestry road networks, insufficient introduction of efficient log production systems and depopulation in rural forest areas.55 However to combat these identified hindrances, the Government established set plans for expanding Wood Supply Capacity to include initiatives such as the: •

Promotion of harvesting of matured planted forests and thinning

•

Introduction of Efficient Log Production System for steep mountains

•

Rationalizing of distribution systems from log production sites to lumber mills.

•

Promoting “coordination and consolidation of forestry practices”

•

“Green Employment Programme” to help forestry workers cultivate techniques

•

Development of Forestry Road Network Road for stable wood distribution

40

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FIGURE 26: forest cover rate over Japan (500x500 metre pixel)

FIGURE 27: Average growing stock per hectare 2015

41

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Japan’s forested land equates to approximately 4.9 billion m3 of forest stock [Figure 28]. More importantly, 51% of this stock has matured [Figure 29]and is ready for harvesting. Harvesting and replanting is an essential part of forestry care with numerous benefits. Landowners generally replant as quickly as possible after harvest to start the new forest growing again.56 Keeping the forest healthy through thinning and replanting is beneficial to the environment therefore it is important to create a domestic demand for wood and not just through exports. Cutting down mature trees encourages strong root development of remaining trees while aiding the weather-resistance of the forest from strong winds and heavy rains. 57 Thinning also allows forest canopies to open up more, allowing sunlight to reach lower levels, boosting undergrowth which in turn reduces soil erosion.

Biodiversity is advanced through the growth of various plants and the animals drawn to this environment.

A staggering increase in wood export revenue has been achieved in a three year period rising from 9.3 billion yen in 2012 to 22.9 billion yen in 2015 [Figure 30]. This export market is dominated by round wood, sawn wood and plywood but through the addition of new laminated products, exports can continue to increase at an exponential rate. Exporting wood products is just one important element of the supply chain, the source of the wood needs particular attention in order to fully benefit Japan’s environmental and economical situation.

Only 16% of domestically sourced timber in 2014 was used in laminated lumber mills in contrast to plywood mills which source 70% from Japan.58 With the inclusion of imported plywood, the domestic share of wood is reduced to 30% [Figure 30], proving that there is still a high reliance on foreign wood products. These issues need to be addressed through improving Japan’s forestry processes supply chain and creating a demand for laminated wood.59 42

Forestry Stock

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

FIGURE 28: Growing Forest stock in Japan

FIGURE 29: Maturing forests planted in Japan

FIGURE 30: Japan’s wood exports

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2.3 WOOD ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT One of the forerunners for pioneering high-rise timber housing is architect Andrew Waugh of Waugh Thistleton Architects. Waugh promotes the use of mass timber for urban housing as a solution to the world’s major future issues; man made climate change and population explosions. (Mayo 2015) His wooden housing work looks to “reinvent construction” in order to “fulfil this need with the minimum effect on our environment”.60 Since wood is one of the very first building materials that human kind utilised for construction, it has a primitive image and mistakenly considered obsolete by the average architecturally untaught person.

Wood being sourced from living matter, makes it unique but also vulnerable in regards to combustibility and deterioration. It is today’s engineered products and technological advances which take advantage of these weaknesses and strengths resulting in wood’s revival and increasing competitiveness with concrete and steel stemming from a ‘scientific rather than nostalgic’61 foundation.

However by combining wood’s nostalgic touch and warmth with its high environmental performance and newly developed structural integrity, its appeal to the public can be manifold. Cities act as a cultural hub for innovation and interaction with a highly efficient standard of living in comparison to rural life. This environment provides an ideal setting to push the boundaries with alternative, economically friendly and quick to construct mass wood building strategies (Mayo.J. 2015).

Before the industrialization of wooden buildings, wood construction can be generalised into two categories: block work and post construction.

Block work construction utilised stack logs, while post construction 44

From log to laminated timber

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

formed a type of palisade structure to support a roof.

The wooden

elements used in these structures were massive in dimension as they were generally unprocessed logs just shaped and cut to size. The progression of civilization led to a decline in forest resources and led to the utilisation of smaller dimensional lumber for efficient material and labour distribution.

Particularly in the late 1800s when light framing construction took hold with the advancement of inexpensive nails, solid wood was rarely used.

Although this construction method was fast and flexible it ‘faces engineering limitations in height, area, fire resistance and structural capacity’.62 Moving onto the 20th century, a resurgence of massive wood design occurred through the invention of new laminating and steel fastening technology.

Rather than utilising natural large dimensional lumber, new technology takes the smaller, cheaper and more readily available dimensional lumber and combines it together to create a totally new product with a myriad of benefits.

CLT

Solid wood construction which employs engineered wood consists of the use of products such as glue-laminated timber, laminated strand lumber (LSL), parallel stand lumber (PSL), laminated veneer lumber (LVL), and cross laminated timber (CLT) which can also take the form of nailed or dowel lamination [Figure 28]. These products can be combined together and with other materials such as steel and concrete to create an extensive array of structural solutions.

In 2007 the world’s tallest wooden building at 29.75m was constructed by Waugh Thistleton Architects.63 This nine storey building contains three stories of social housing and five of private housing, totalling twenty-nine residential units. The company calculated that a building of this height made from steel or concrete would ‘release upwards of 125,000kg of carbon’ while using ‘CLT actually sequesters 185,00kg of carbon’64. The environmental performance of such as building set a precedence for all future CLT towers. An interview 45

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

FIGURE 31: Commerical laminated products (LSL, CLT and LVL from left to right)

FIGURE 32: Major wood products in Japan

46

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

with KLH UK engineers, revealed the possibility of building up to 45 stories in the future, with ‘anything up to 15 stories imminently possible’65.

The latest laminated wood product which the Forestry ministry is gradually introducing into the supply chain is Cross laminated timber (CLT). The development of CLT was pushed forward in the 1990s in Germany and Austria as a method of utilising unused side cuts from saw mills. CLT is a product comparable with plywood in relation to lumber being laminated together in a series of layers, with layers in odd numbers and alternating at right angles.

The panel thickness can be created in

a range from 50mm to 300mm but even 500mm panels are possible.66 In November 2014, the MLIT publicized the ‘Roadmap for Disseminating CLT’ [Figure 33]. This document outlined plans and methods for achieving ‘annual production capacity of 500,000 m3 of CLT by FY2024.’67 The ministry set three main paths attributed to developing CLT-related building standards, increasing construction of case examples and establishing a CLT production system. CLT is in its embryonic stage in multi-storey construction but has the potential to reach heights of 40 meters which far surpasses traditional timber frame and masonry construction.

CLT pioneer, De Rikle of the London based architectural company DRMM, coins the phrase ‘timber is the new concrete’68 profusely promoting the benefits over traditional construction methods in relation to: • Reduction in time and cost due to off-site construction • No wet trades required • Smaller cranes can be used due to lightness of wood • Thick panels contribute to fire resistance and noise reduction • Solid panels enhance air tightness especially in modular construction • High shear strength to resist horizontal loads 47

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

The Government is simultaneously promoting the export of wood products along with the creation of CLT. The 2015 MAFF report flaunts the success of their plans, with a 29% wood export revenue increase from the previous year.69 With this in mind, the export of processed wood products is the wood industry’s ultimate goal including new wood products such as Cross laminated timber.

The aforementioned issues with the current forestry industry have resulted in high costs when using domestic wood for CLT production. Government subsidies and initiatives are slowly changing this, however the current low demand for CLT also factors into the high production costs at this moment of time.

The higher the demand, the larger the production

line and the cheaper CLT will become as an engineered wood product.

The current factories can only ‘produce 4,000 cubic meters per year.’70 Meken Lamwood Corporation in Okayama is the first factory to set up CLT production in Japan. In an interview between the Japan Cross Laminated Timber Association Japan Lumber Journal and the managers of Meken Lamwood Corporation, it was revealed that Yamasamokuzai Co. Ltd. is the only other CLT-producing factory in Japan in 2015 . The Length Cooperative Association is next in preparing for CLT manufacture on its manufacturing lines.71 The three factories can produce CLT from cedar while in Hokkaido, CLT has the potential to be produced from larch as it has been tested by government initiatives [Figure 34]. Therefore further factories are hoped to be built in Eastern and Northern Japan. By introducing a product that requires CLT or popularising its use in the construction industry, it will allow the material to become increasingly feasible to create new factories or convert existing ones for CLT production near maturing forests.

48

CLT distribution and Demand in Japan

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

2.4 WOOD SUPPLY CHAIN Currently in Japan, approximately 40% of wood demand and approximately half of new housing starts in Japan are wooden constructions.72 From 2010 to 2015 there was a 10% increase in general wooden dwelling construction, with a specific 13% increase in prefabricated wood house construction and 19% increase in wood 2x4 construction [Figure 35]. To further increase these numbers the Ministry of Forestry is building upon the 2010 “Public Buildings Wood Use Promotion Act” enactment which promotes wood use in public buildings. This is also in an effort to remedy the severe restrictions of such wooden buildings in the past. As a result, in 2014 the government commissioned 100 low-rise public buildings, with 32 constructed from wood (MAFF 2015).

Wood in Japanese modern construction

The cheapest form of construction in Japan still utilises timber frame construction.

The streamlining and continuous rationalisation of the

system, including the incorporation of pre-cut wooden members has kept it competitive, reducing construction building time and costs. Consequently wood as a building material is increasing even though new house builds are not [Figure 36].

Applying this strategy to the laminated wood products

would be the next logical step.

For the vision of a modern Japanese city to move from the realm of fantasy and into a reality, logistics, economics and the entire supply chain from tree to building must be addressed and strategised. Demand is the driving force for the entire wood supply chain, with CLT and housing forming the main proponent in this proposed chain. Japan’s wood supply chain is gradually improving but is still far stretch from its heyday in the Edo and Meiji era. But even when compared to the 1970s [Figure 36]a constant decline in wood use was seen to be plagued with issues with profitability and co-ordination73 49

50

It is not known if CLT is applicable for a seismatic usage

It is not known if it is possible to use CLT walls for steel buildings

Use after the methods are developed

Production capacity will increase about 50,000 cubic meters of every year in order to increase the production and lower the unit price. *50,000 cubic meters = 420 units of the inaugural CLT building (Ootoyo lumber dormitory) Seminars and workshops to teach medium to high rise buildings utilizing wooden materials (structure, material choice)

Diffusing knowledge to build Very few architects have knowlmedium to high-rise CLT edge to build medium to high- rise wooden buildings buildings

Establishing production system > CLT will become 7080,000 yen/ cubic meter in order to compete against RC

Currently, 3 factories can produce CLT and their capacity is 10,000 cubic meters each per annum. Expensive (about 150,000 yen/cubic meter)

Supporting experimental buildings utilizing CLT (8 buildings are being built in FY 2014 supported by the Forest Agency) Encouraging innovative ideas (utilizing CLT for non-residential, partially utilize CLT)

Evaluating connection methods Examining the aseismatic feasibility

Use after the methods are developed

Use after the methods are developed

Charring design announcement

Developing connection methods

Experiments of charring rate and depth and evaluation

General construction method announcement

Full scale experiments to establish a generalized construction method and evaluation

FY 2016 Design Value announced

FY 2015

Collect strength data

FY 2015

It is not known if it is possible to Developing connection methods use CLT floors for steel buildings etc

Needs Ministry Approval, secure fire-resistancy based on many criteria such as the size of the project

CURRENT SITUATION

ROADMAP TO DIFFUSE CLT BY FORESTRY AGENCY AND MLIT

More experimental projects > At this moment, only one CLT building has been built, so there is More empirical knowledge not enough empirical knowledge

CLT partial usage: aseismatic

CLT partial usage: wall

CLT partial usage: floor

Allow CLT construction methods (utilizing CLT for wall, floor and structure) for building projects

OBJECTIVES

FIGURE 33: CLT Roadmap

Securing motivated architects who would like to utilize CLT all over Japan (especially in remote areas)

Production capacity will be about 50,000 cum by January 2016. Production capacity will be about 500,000 cum by FY 2024. *500,000 cum= 6% of medium rise buildings (3-4 stories) adopt CLT construction methods

Accumulating construction knowledge and diffuse the knowledge to let builders apply CLT easier

It is possible to use CLT for a seismatic renovation of existing buildings

It is possible to use CLT wall for steel buildings etc

It is possible to use CLT fo steel buildings etc

For three stories or lower buildings, CLT can be exposed (quasi-fire resistant buildings)

It is possible to use CLT construction methods with easy calculation without getting Ministry approval

TARGETING GOALS

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

CLT Producing capabilities Non-CLT Producing capabilities

www.length.or.jp www.meikenkogyo.com

www.woodist.co.jp FIGURE 34: CLT capable producing factories in Japan

FIGURE 35: New construction starts in Japan by construction method

FIGURE 36: Number of housing starts versus share of wooden houses

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CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

In the report for ‘Strategies for establishing a stable supply chain for developing a structural composite lumber (SCL) market in Japan’ 201774, the main stakeholders in the supply chain are identified. These problems can be addressed by adapting the supply chain and taking 3 main directions: •

Creating a steady demand for engineered timber

•

The process of facilitating cooperation and coordination between stakeholders

•

Raising people’s awareness of the importance of forestry and wood

2.5 PROPOSED WOOD SUPPLY CHAIN Alongside their roles in the demand, supply, economic and environmental positions, the benefits of realigning the supply chain with a focus on domestic raw material use and high end- engineered wood for high end housing products are identified: The following explanation is a guide to a modified supply chain [Figure 37]: 1. Timber Sourcing and Management Private Forest owners, National forest associations, Management of forestry contractors Lumber mills are supplied with demand and therefore can increase production with a stable and consistent requirement that will progressively optimize the process and therefore make it more competitive. In return, this will create demand for raw materials, which forest owners can find opportunity to capitalize in on their land while contributing to the maintenance of Japan’s forests.

2. Government Incentives Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) 52

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

The Japanese government has been working toward economic and environmental issues concerning forestry. The issues outlined in their reports and promoted incentives can be addressed and utilised in the suggested supply chain. This will work towards the maintenance and re-plantation of forests, and combat the stagnation of the wood products industry.

3. Infrastructure, transport and equipment Logging companies and Transportation development Improving logging equipment and infrastructure improves the efficiency of forestry and aids the supply side to secure stable traders. Improved infrastructure also benefits locals and encourages people to stay in rural areas as they become more accessible, boosted by industry.

4. Wood processing and Products

Round wood lumber yards, Other wood products, Laminated lumber Factories A promotion for wood utilisation in construction, through popularisation, and cost reduction with rationalisation of production and supply has the potential to create a boom in business for wood product factories. There has already been a surge in new lumber mills and this is only set to increase.

5. Prefabricated wooden housing House builders, building contractors Contractors and house builders have the potential to adopt a construction system and marketing strategy for new generation housing which can compete with traditional systems in relation to time, costs and design.

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How to return Japan to its heyday in wood construction? It may not be possible to return to such as state due to the development of cities in concrete and steel, and already implemented advanced construction systems in these materials. Despite this, whenever there is a need for a new building, there now is the option to construct it from wood.

In order for this to happen, the benefits to the entire wood supply chain and end user must be tested and proven. The environment as a whole benefits from the rejuvenation of forests and the carbon storage of wood being used in manufacturing. Forests grown for lumber use can be made profitable and private owners can make profitable work.

Local economy can grow in rural areas, by work supplied from a demand in forest products. As a result, rural infrastructure and road networks will improve. Encouraging popular and new wood products to be produced domestically, using domestic wood will benefit the former mentioned industries and export profits. With Japan possessing advanced machinery and production line technology, it can be easily adapted to new engineered wood products. With so many of Japan’s neighbouring countries developing into 2nd and 1st world countries, offering advanced construction materials could be a profitable enterprise for Japan.

If a comprehensive approach is taken in relation to creating a wooden city ranging from domestic sourcing, production and design, co-ordinating all the sectors involved then a timber Tokyo can be realised with great benefit to the country. The third chapter moves onto the city and how to create a demand for wood within and how to adapt the prefab technology available to link in with these ideas.

54

FIGURE 37: A new proposed supply chain

CHAPTER 2: THE TIMBER CITY

55

CHAPTER 3: THE PREFAB CITY

FIGURE 38: Sekisui Heim house manufacturing line

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CHAPTER 3: THE PREFAB CITY

CHAPTER 3 THE PREFAB CITY 3.1 STRUCTURE OF THE MEGA CITY Why examine prefabricated modular housing for the purpose of developing new wood construction systems in Japan? Although there are many typologies of buildings which wood construction could be beneficial too, the answer has a twofold approach. One is about the need to focus on the high infactory completion process which modular housing enables. The benefits of using wood in construction is multiplied because of its ease to manipulate by tools, time-saving and fits the concept of mass customizability. The second part, relates to the scale of construction. For wood to have an impact on the construction industry it needs to be applied on a large scale. Currently prefabricated housing provides a steady supply to the housing industry. If this system can be applied to public buildings too then the target of producing an eco- wooden city can be more easily achieved.

In 1950, thirty per cent of the world’s population was urban, and by 2050 this number is projected to change to sixty six per cent. To house this expected urbanised growth the world has forecast 41 mega-cities with more than 10 million inhabitants by 2030 across the globe. Amid these mega cities, Tokyo is expected to remain the world’s largest city in 2030 with 37 million inhabitants.75 Population growth and urbanization of the world seems inevitable, however how countries deal with this expansion through the cities’ construction, environmental impact and integrated infrastructure will have great consequences for the future of the planet. Building environmentalist, Dr. Noguchi of the University of Melbourne explains how buildings account for ‘one-quarter of its (the worlds) wood harvest’.76 He argues that these resources should be used efficiently while providing a healthier and better environment for people, through new wood engineering resources and intelligent construction sequencing 57

CHAPTER 3: THE PREFAB CITY

systems.

The Japanese government is all ardently pushing ahead with

modernising the forestry and wood products industry with the aim to ‘woodify’ the cities (Noguchi M 2005). With the roadmap for CLT77 coming into effect, it seems that now is the perfect time to implement engineered wood construction as a framework for these future mega cities.

This challenge of managing urbanization is further emphasised by John Wilmoth, the director of UN DESA’s Population Division, who explains how this issue is not a national but global consideration: “Managing urban areas has become one of the most important development challenges of the 21st century. Our success or failure in building sustainable cities will be a major factor in the success of the post-2015 UN development agenda”78

When taking on board the prediction of Tokyo’s growth, how this city will be developed is incredibly high on the priority list. The 2015 Japanese population census revealed that of the ‘49,062,530 households in Japan, 14,457,083 households are one-person households’,79 this equals a single living rate of 29.47%. When this fact is isolated to the city of Tokyo itself, the single household percentage increases to a staggering 42.53%.

Urbanized living is a more efficient and environmentally friendly way of life than a rural one if approached accordingly. High density residences allows for sharing of services and reduction of transportation and distribution of resources associated with rural living. The UNEP SBCI (Sustainable Buildings & Climate Initiative) put a large emphasis on reducing energy consumption of new constructions, stating that “the Building Sector has the largest potential for delivering long-term, significant and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions.”80 Tokyo has the 2nd lowest vacancy for rental property in Japan at 16.9% along with the highest percentage of single person households standing at over forty percent. The vast majority of rental housing is Tokyo is for single person households and with the highest average rent at 76,648 yen per month 58

Lifestyle choices

CHAPTER 3: THE PREFAB CITY

being in Tokyo, rental property is a lucrative business. There is a trend in Tokyo to rent rather than buy because of costs, convenience and lifestyle choices. From 2010 to 2015, there was a 27% increase in rental apartments in Japan in contrast to a 12% increase for detached housing built in Japan.81 One in seven (8.2 million) houses were vacant nationwide in October 2013.82 Homes are increasingly abandoned in rural areas, following a fall in demand for detached housing. in these parts Responding to these facts, new construction starts for single unit apartments will have a huge influence on sustainable construction in the future.

Detached housing still remains the ideal form of housing for raising a family, so this market will always need to be tailored for. With that said, this ideal housing type, is the most expensive one and construction types are typically targeted toward the upper middle and upper salary classes, which will be elaborated in the following sections.83 In the analysis of the Asiabarometer survey (Inoguchi, T. 2003) about the lifestyles in Japan, showed how Japanese value a high standard of living and are willing to pay for it. The survey revealed how 44% of people interviewed, stated that they would put importance on the quality of a product over the price when deciding a purchase.84 The analysis gathers together the data to arrange what Japanese feel were important in their lives. When the respondents were given a multiple choice of things that they felt were most important in their lives, 53.1% said they felt settling in a comfortable residence was important. This was shortly after the figure for being employed at 55.1% and spending time with family at 59%. When asked about the quality of living standard the majority (58.9%) said standards are at the middle level but 24.5% reported that living standards rather low. However when questioned about what parts made them happy or unhappy, in relation to housing, 40.5% said they were satisfied.85

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A conclusion from the survey was made that Japanese place a high importance on non-material things such as relations, work success and living standards.

Considering Japan’s historic affinity for wood and importance placed on housing and quality of living, proposals to meet such a demand should be investigated. The potential for high-rise timber social housing and detached high-quality housing are possible markets for use of CLT construction.

3.2 URBAN HOUSING An overview of the housing sector and its enormous contribution to Japan’s economy can be seen through the fact that in 2002, house-building investment encompassed 3.7% of Japan’s GDP (Matsumara S. 2004).

Dr. Shuichi

Matsumara, associate professor in the University of Tokyo calculated that the short life span of houses is the main reason for a high market percentage.

He explains how ‘eventually after 42 years all houses will be rebuilt ’86 based on the figure, 1.2 million of all the existing 50 million houses are rebuilt every year.

Either the lifespan of new building constructions must be addressed, or how new building starts can be environmentally built and recycled.

The housing market is split between detached housing built by large prefabricated house manufacturers and multi-family dwelling built by general contractors. Of the single dwelling houses, 66.5% are built utilising conventional wooden construction by local firms. However, until 1960 this method was almost used for all detached homes [Figure 39].

In the 21st century, prefabricated housing only occupied 8.5% of the housing market, however where it differentiates from the traditional method is through the income of the target market. 42.7% of families with incomes over 120 million a year purchased prefabricated homes in 60

CHAPTER 3: THE PREFAB CITY

FIGURE 39: New dwellings by construction type and occupant type

FIGURE 40: Newly detached houses by construction type and income bracket

61

CHAPTER 3: THE PREFAB CITY

contrast to 74.5% of families with incomes under 30 million who instead purchase conventional wooden homes [Figure 40].

On the account

of prefabricated housing being aimed toward the luxury market, it’s competitiveness arises from other characteristics and not economical costs.87 High service can be seen as key for the luxury market.

From this analysis, two major housing types (detached prefabricated housing and single dwelling apartments) for two different demographics (families and singles) have the greatest potential for changing the city if a new efficient, and environmental friendly construction approach utilising engineered timber is established.

The notion of prefabricated housing conjures up images of very cheap, quick to construct and monotonous designs to many nations. This negative image have taken root primarily as a response to extreme housing shortages after times of disaster such as war. Taking the example of early prefab units in the United Kingdom, where a large number of these homes were first built after the Second World War, the cheap image remains with many today. Products such as the ‘airey house’ with its monotonous, boxy designs evoke a inferior impression [Figure 41]. A Similar mentality was created in Japan during the 1960s and 1970s when the demands for mass housing were addressed with ‘virtually identical’ and affordable housing.88 The first industrialised house launched in Japan was called ‘the Pipe House’ in 1955.

This was followed shortly by the first

practical implementation of a prefabricated home called the ‘Mizet House’ pioneered by Daiwa House Industry in 1959 [Figure 42].

Constructed from steel pipes, they provided a cheap but rather primitive solution.

From this point, Daiwa House continued pioneering various

prototypes.89 62

The First Prefab house

CHAPTER 3: THE PREFAB CITY

Dr Masa Noguchi coins the term ‘quality-orientated production’ in response to the Japanese market taking preference to high-end home design and production over price.

He explains how buying a home in Japan requires significant

investment and can only be done once or twice in a lifetime. (Noguchi 2005) Therefore when a house is bought, customers are generally willing to pay more for quality.

The recent trends from six major home manufacturers in Japan demonstrate that there is a focus on high quality and affordable homes but not ‘cheap’ ones. More dwellings have been made using a prefabricated system than ones using the traditional two-by-four method [Figure 40]. Home-ownership in Japan has been decreasing in cities such as Tokyo, with the home-ownership level as low as 44.63% in 2010.90 On the other hand, sales of prefabricated homes have been relatively steady from the late 1970s to now [Figure 43].

Higher end price markets are one of the reasons for a low but steady sale over this long time scale. The Japanese housing market over the past few decades has been focused toward the ‘beginning on middle and luxury markets’.91 The average prefabricated house costs 8% more than an on-site wooden one in 2000, yet they still maintain their popularity.92 However this additional cost margin results in a home of a very high quality in relation to build quality, engineering and the amenities included.

Particularly with the Japanese

housing market, clients look for high service in well established companies which they can trust (Noguchi and Collins 2008).

This idea of a ‘lifetime investment’ is elaborated by Volger who explains that detached homes are still the preferred form of living by the majority of Japanese, even though over seven average salaries are required to pay for a new home and only last an average of 20-30 years. The high monetary input and low investment output, is one issue relating to the stagnant rate of new builds(Volger 2016).

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In terms of

house construction methods, site-built homes take

preference with over 80% manner.

of detached homes built in the traditional

The remaining 15-20%

are produced by some of the most

advanced and efficient factory lines in the

entire world

[Figure 38] .

Build times is another huge beneficial factor involved, taking approximately 120 days for a regular carpenter to build a house on site, 90 days for 50% for prefabricated panel houses, and 40 days for modular unit housing.

However in terms of actual house assembly, it takes a remarkable 1-2 days.93 The appeal of convenience in the busy work lives of the average Japanese adult is a huge draw.

3.3 JAPANESE HOUSE BUILDERS With the number of prefabricated homes produced yearly in the past twenty years hovering around the 200,000 unit mark [Figure 44], there is a stable business to be attended to. However these numbers for the prefabricated housing industry in Japan are largely monopolised by the ten largest housing manufacturers, producing around 97.2% of all new prefab homes in 1995.94 Five major companies consist of Sekisui House, Daiwa House, Misawa Homes, Sekisui Homes and PanaHome, who dominate 80% of the market.

Of these companies Misawa is the only housing company which didn’t evolve from a conglomerate. According to Noguchi, the reasons for this are that housing projects require huge resources for factory production and R&D. Clients also rely heavily on the reputation of established companies and distrust newcomers.

Another smaller but important manufacturer of modular housing is Toyota Homes.

64

Although the smallest producer of homes from the

CHAPTER 3: THE PREFAB CITY

FIGURE 41-42 (left to right): England’s Airey prefab house and Japan’s Midhet prefab house

FIGURE 43: The number of dwellings constructed by type since the 1970s

FIGURE 44: The number of homes built by Japan’s largest home builders in 1993 and 2003

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top 6 house makers [Figure 44], the application of Toyota’s automobile production line to housing production has proven very effective in creating quality, reliable modules to a target market with a slightly lower salary than that Sekisui Heim targets. In a similar fashion, the philosophy of economical, quality and reliable products in the automobile industry is passed onto to their homes.

There are three housing factories, with the

largest producing 64 modules per day, averaging 5 houses per day. (Volger 2015)

The Toyota LEAN manufacturing process is famous throughout

the globe and has been implemented in numerous factories. Noguchi summarises the various approaches the five main housing manufacturers in Japan take, in his 2001 essay on Zero-energy Mass Custom Homes.

Each takes a slightly different approach to the manufacture, marketing and design: PanaHome Corp ( established 1963) is part of the Panasonic Group and produces structural steel-frame panels for their custom homes. The company runs a state of the art automation system and is at the forefront of solar community developments.

SANYO Homes Corp (established 1969) is owned by SANYO Electric Co. Ltd. and markets their homes around the concept of an ‘Eco & Safety’ life. The housing performance is maximized through local power generation, energy-efficiency, and earthquake resistance strategies.

Sekisui Chemical Co. Ltd (established 1947) also known as Sekisui Heim, specialise in producing modular housing. They produced Japan’s first modular house in 1971. With this form of prefabrication, the company claim to have an 80% in factory completeness. The eight factories nationwide focus on the construction of wood and/or steel-frame modular homes. The mechanised assembly lines for these frames focus on the production of high performance construction.

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Sekisui House Ltd (established 1960) is by far the largest house prefabricated house builder in Japan. In 2010, the company had recorded a cumulative sales of 2,001,722 homes. They have a strong focus on development of zero carbon emission housing and demonstrate their home amenities to the public through a studio experience called ‘Nattoku kobo’.

Misawa Homes Co. Ltd (established 1967) focus on prefabricated mass custom homes and housing materials. Their unique house building system builds upon three-dimensional modules of rigid steel frames where upon them large-sized non-structural panels are applied.

These are ‘pre-cast

autoclaved lightweight concrete’ (PALC) with a customizable façade design that is vast and flexible.

Strengths

Interestingly, Noguchi draws attention to the fact that the homes are marketed as “quality orientated as part of a cost performance”. 95 He draws a comparison to the automobile industry, whereby even though cars can be produced for a much lower rate that in the past, the price is not dramatically changed by higher productivity. This is due to the continuous upgrading and insertion of newer items for each model. The same technique is applied for housing, whereby each model doesn’t necessarily get cheaper but more high-tech equipment is used and quality is improved. Japanese housing manufacturers are constantly competing not for cost reduction but rather quality and feature improvement.

(Sekisui Chemical, 1998a) This Quality focus can be categorised into the following: • Structural strength: Many houses provide earthquake resistance well over the already strict regulations in Japan. For instance the Sekisui Heim steel homes are tested under waves with 1,800 gal. This force is double that of the occurrence during the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake, commonly known as the Kobe quake of 1995.96 67

CHAPTER 3: THE PREFAB CITY

• Durability: This is in reference to the lifespans of homes. Up to 50% of wooden houses built are destroyed within 33 years of their erection. (Matsumura and Tanabe 1996). The modern prefabricated homes combat this trend by advertising their homes with a multilifespan plan.

• Resource saving and generating: Highly insulated and airtight homes provide high energy savings. In addition, some companies such as PanaHomes follow an eco-life philosophy offering options such as solar cells.

• Amenities: Soundproofing, smart systems, artificial ventilation, environmental control and other technological advances are constantly added and improved to the homes.

• Customization and design: With customers paying for their perfect home, adapting the design to their needs is all part of the service.

Each modular or panelised element have various iterations to suit site and size needs. In addition to this the customers can control the interior layouts, design styles and amenities to suit their budget and taste.

All these large housing companies individually set their own quality standards as a form of marketing and to continuously improve the performance of their homes. Noguchi & Collins (2008) uses the example of Toyota homes who prioritise the durability of the house in relation to both structural durability and design durability/flexibility or how Misawa Homes advertise their homes to last several generations.

The traditional house built by small companies is rarely in competition with large prefabricating housing companies.

On the contrary, all the

various prefabricated housing systems are fiercely competing with each other. (Matsumara 2004)

Where these companies stand out is their

marketing strategy and advertising.

It is not unusual for a housing

giant to ‘spend more than 3% of its annual income on advertising’.97 With surveys showing how the brand and reliability of a company comes first in choosing a prefabricated home, it is no wonder that to maintain a brand name is of the utmost importance. Through the utilization of mass media such 68

CHAPTER 3: THE PREFAB CITY

FIGURE 45: Main types of prefab house construction in Japan

FIGURE 46: Levels of standardization and customization

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as TV commercials, these large companies build upon their already reputable position. Noguchi & Collins (2008) comments that costumers are strongly influenced by advertising as they believe that companies who are well established always produce superior products as bad one would destroy their reputation.

One method of advertising which is unique to this industry is the ‘housing exhibition’. Full scale houses and components are on display and open to access for the general public. Having a physical interaction with the house and building a memory often creates a more reliable representation of what it would be like to purchase the product. Between twenty to forty companies build their own display homes in the park to encourage potential home-buyers to become acquainted with their range.98 Hadjri, K., & Noguchi, M (2009) discuss the term ‘mass customization’ as an oxymoron. The notion of mass production and individually customized products creates a paradox. Noguchi cites the systemization of mass customization by Joseph B. Pine II, stating that it is “a synthesis of the two long-competing systems of managements: the mass production of individually customized goods and services”.99 The method of this concept’s implementation refers to the user input in the process of designing the product before manufacture. This is a common method in the product design industry but when applied to housing as a product it creates a completely new typology. This customization element comes about from the high level of standardization in each of the houses’ sections,100 from which clients can select from a vast array of combinations. Noguchi (2009) demonstrates the paradox of how increasing standard components increases the level of customizability [Figure 46].

Today’s demands are focused on the Mass custom paradox, through which leading manufacturers must compete. Lower cost housing of high quality and individual appeal is an ideal which all customers are pursuing.

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Mass customization

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3.4 Prefabrication with engineered wood Mass customization applied to prefabricated homes is often associated with the concept of creating a number of housing modules with a limited number of arrangements. However, when applied to solid wood the customization capabilities are greatly expanded through the ability to cut and machine pieces rather than just selecting from stock. Below is a list of the main types of prefabrication applied to house creation:

Pre cut This method of manufacture is the simplest and most widely used in the wood construction industry, particularly in Japanese homes. This method involves cutting all the structural pieces of wood to the required length before delivery on site. This enables precise cutting and time-saving on-site.

Through the process of continuous rationalisation of the pre-cut system, it remains competitive and applicable to any type of design.

A modern example of this efficient pre-cut system is the one utilised in the construction and design of the Maggie’s centre in Oxford by Wilkinson Eyre architects [Figure 47]. A complex asymmetrical geometry forms the basis of the design and structure. The building itself is elevated above the ground in a forested area on a series of splayed 300mm glulam columns, which are clustered in 3 column sets. Each of the column is angled to follow the supporting beam above, while varying in length to match the terrain and positioned to avoid the trees. This led to each column being of varying heights and angles. Specialist software allowed the input of bepoke components directly into CNC cutting machines to prefabricate all the unique pieces. This cutting system provided minimal disruption to the forested right while increasing assembly time..101

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Panelized construction Panellised construction involves the entire wall or floor components being cut and assembled in factory before being shipped to site. These can be loadbearing and non-load bearing with the detail placed into each panel, varying to the specification. For example, panels can incorporate insulation, openings, weather barriers, services and cladding. Highly energy efficient panels can be produced. The main weakness for this construction are the numerous joints and connections of these panels on site. The quality of these connections affect air and water infiltration. Advantages include minimal finishing to the interior and exterior of walls because it can all be incorporated in the factory.

An interesting example of prefabricated CLT floor and wall panels combinations is demonstrated in the construction of the H4 apartment complex by Schnkula Architekten [Figure 48]. The H4 does not use CLT in the facades but rather ‘uses vertical timber posts 24cm2 in section,’ compressed against gypsum board, insulation and timber beams. This very simple wall solution creates 12m by 3.2m panels which eliminate the need for comparatively expensive CLT and adhesive use.102 Being fully clad on both sides and fitted with windows and doors reduced the on-site work greatly with it being erected in only four days. This is a great example displaying how different wooden products can be used in prefabrication to adjust to the brief given.

Modular The most complex form of prefabrication is the creation of complete boxes or ‘modules’ which can be stacked together on site. These are often used for high repetition housing units such as apartments and hotels due to scale and on-site efficiency. These units can be made air-tight and fully fitted with services and cladding. The main issue with this form of construction is the transportation costs, sequencing complexity, structural doubling and the 72

CHAPTER 3: THE PREFAB CITY

FIGURE 47: Maggie’s centre in Oxford by Wilkinson Eyre architects

FIGURE 48: H4 apartment complex prefabricated wall panels

by Schnkula Architekten

FIGURE 49: The Alpenhotel Ammerwald by Oskar Leo kaufmann

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balance between customization and repetitive design. In relation to airtight, mass customizable wood homes and apartments, CLT modular construction seems an ideal strategy to employ in an urban setting.

The Alpenhotel Ammerwald by Oskar Leo kaufmann and Albert Ruf ZT gmbH sets a precedence for ‘growing’ neighbourhoods in the sense that the standard 174m2 module can extend horizontally and vertically [Figure 49].

The 16 meter tall building is stacked with 96 units all constructed from CLT. The interior of these units expose the raw CLT panels of Austrian pine. It provides a warm and domestic ambience without the complication of fake ceilings and additional gypsum board. The voids between the modules are filled with insulation and the services are hidden in a chase between the bathroom and closet. Only the bathroom is coated in a transparent waterproof layer for moisture protection.

The building surpasses all Austrian fire and structural regulations with 90 minute fire rating between the rooms and in the corridors. The room walls are thick enough to provide enough fire resistance to meet regulations.

Gypsum board cladding is used for corridors and non-combustible insulation between units. The vertical stairs are construction form cast in place concrete as stabilization against lateral forces.103 On the factory line a remarkable 96 units were constructed in only 31 days at a rate of about 3 a day.104 In order to demonstrate the potential and the already achieved accomplished of CLT as a structural products, two impressive buildings have been selected, each taking advantage of the properties of CLT in a different way. As of summer 2017, Brock Commons Student Residence at the University of British Columbia by Acton Ostry Architects will become the world’s tallest timber hybrid tower standing at 53 meters tall [Figure 46]. The 18-storey structure provides Housing for 404 students. The hybrid design that combines mass wood and concrete, with all the environmental benefits that wood brings 74

Precedence

CHAPTER 3: THE PREFAB CITY

FIGURE 50-51: Brock Commons Student Residence at the University of British Columbia by Acton Ostry Architects

FIGURE 52-53: Dalston Lane housing complex by Waugh Thistleton architects

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and at the same cost of a steel and concrete structures. On either end of the building, are free-standing concrete cores which the wooden panels are assembled around. The speed of the erection was facilitated by the use of prefabricated materials, including the CLT slab panels, glulam columns and façade panels.105 From height to volume, the next example comes from the CLT pioneering architecture firm, Waugh Thistleton architects with the construction of the worlds’s largest CLT building [Figure 52]. The Dalston Lane development is a ten-storey, 121-unit development with the structure completely made from CLT, unlike the Brock Commons Student Residence. The result is that the projects just weighs a fifth of a concrete building of equal size. Even smaller aspects of the building such as the stairs, floors and all interior walls are constructed from wood. Due to the flat prefabricated panels and the light weight, the number of deliveries during construction was reduced by 80 per cent. Tackling England’s housing problem with a high quality, highdensity housing complex, Dalston lane provides a natural and healthy living environment with its exposed wooden interior, and low carbon footprint due to the scale of wood used and low energy consumption.106

3.5 PROPOSED CLT UTILISATION By analysing Japanese housing giants and world precedence of engineered timber construction, one can begin to understand how laminated lumber can come into play with this construction process. In the case of implementing CLT in prefabricated housing, a natural affinity can be found for the modular type of construction. With Sekisui Heim leading the way in this form of construction it is important to understand its benefits. The cost of such as house is about “16% higher than conventional post and beam traditional housing” but “18% below those of other modular housing suppliers”.107 The 76

World’s largest CLT complex

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FLOORS

CEILINGS

FURNITURE

PANELS

COMPLEXES

MODULES

HIGH RISE

ELEVATORS

BRIDGES

KITCHENS

REINFORCE

PODS

STAIRCASES

OPENINGS

TOWERS

SCULPTURES

FIGURE 54: Diversity in the application of CLT

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modular construction allows for air-tight and high quality homes which it markets toward an upper salary audience. However through the stream lining of the construction process it can produces the modules quicker cheaper than its competitors.

Seikisui Heim’s famous modular approach sets itself ahead of its competitors

Sekisui Heim Interview

in relation to completion time and costs. In the past, the company focused on middle of the upper market, although now it is moving onto luxury homes. Excluding land and site preparation costs, in mid-200 the costs were approximately 16% higher than traditional post and beam houses, but 18% below other modular housing suppliers.108 To implement CLT production and utilisation into the Japanese forestry product supply chain, the creation of modular CLT housing for companies such as Sekisui Heim seems like a possible start. The high quality and short production/ erection times of such a wooden product has great potential for cities like Tokyo.

In an interview conducted with the Hoshi Nobu, head of wooden modules in Sekisui Heim, an overview of the housing industry and the needs of Japanese families was reviewed.109 Observing the cultural significance of owning a detached house in Japanese society, the reasons for a steady demand in understandable. Mr Hoshi elaborates on how possessing ones own detached home is considered a lifetime achievement and so people are willing to spend money on it. In contrast to apartments and condominiums, families prefer detaching living. Up to the first half of the 20th century this was the primary way of living in cities and villages alike.

The highest sales of prefab housing are in large cities due to population size and the small percentage of housing craftsman in comparison to rural areas.

The convenient and customizability of such houses in cities are a few of the main selling points. When addressing the particularities of the options selected often by clients, Mr Hoshi spoke of an ‘fixation’ on simple, clean 78

The versatility of CLT

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Fibre-cement panel cladding

Glass screen over CLT panel

Horizontal treated cedar cladding

Steel sheet cladding

FIGURE 55: CLT panel cladding potential

FIGURE 56: The mass customizable potential of Japanese CLT prefab homes

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and low maintenance homes. This has led to the popularization of veneer panelling and finishes.

80% of homes bought are of a steel construction. Factors such as comparative simplicity of structures, fire-retardness and taller homes contribute to this materials popularity. Using timber frame construction becomes complicated due to the number of members used, however by replacing them with CLT panels this problem can be resolved. Besides this improvement, CLT has greater strength and fire resistance which can allow for 3-storey homes be built in the city where plots are narrow and expensive. In a way, CLT homes become a modern version of log homes, of which Sekisui Heim sell 2000 a year. The easy craftability of wooden panels, allows the customisability of openings to be achieved with relative ease [Figure 54].

Tackling the issue of appearance and maintenance, various cladding, coatings and rain screens can be applied to CLT panels. Professor Koshihara of Tokyo University and Head of NPO Timberize in a lecture about the ‘timberization of cities’ describes the absurdity in hiding a beautiful and carefully designed wooden structure.110 There are a number of potential solutions to creating a fire-resistant façade, that is easy maintenance and ‘clean’. A translucent or transparent external layer such as glass or polyurethane exposes the wooden aesthetic while protecting it from wear and fire [Figure 55]. For interior surfaces, CLT panels can have a diluable protective varnish which is waterproof and fire-retardant.

A summary of the needs of Japanese prefab home owners include:

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•

Numerous variations on walls and openings

•

Perfect, crack-less, easy to clean finish both inside and outside

•

Low maintenance

•

Simple facade design

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•

Zero energy houses

•

Smart home systems

•

Upgradable options for services and sizes

•

Smaller homes for downgrades and couples

•

3 storey possibility in wood construction for cities

The ability to CNC any shape or opening into a CLT panel, it opens up the idea of high quality customisability to a different level. Within the module, outlets and facilities such as smart systems can be built in and incorporated with energy producing systems such as solar panels and heat recovery systems.

Even special features such as the roof structure reclaimed form old machiya discussed into the first chapter can be introduced into such as system. The mass customization of CLT modules for Japanese families and the public sector has enormous potential as an industry [Figure 56]. This scale of wood manufacturing would also create a sustainable demand for the forestry and wood products industry in Japan when linked in with the proposed supply chain.

In order for the wood construction industry in Japan to move forward, identifying the key proponents and how changes would benefit them are crucial in any persuasive presentation. Only when all the sectors, private companies and groups involved in the cycle are convinced of the benefits to themselves and Japan can they wholeheartedly push forward.

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FIGURE 57: The largest metropolis in the world

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4.1 A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY Sustainable consumer behaviour, is one that stems from sincere intentions to improve the environmental market through greener lifestyles and choices.

This choice of consumption seeks to protect the environment for present and future generations. This trend can be linked with the use and creation of the ‘green’ buildings, particulalry ones which use natural materials such as wood. The focus is on the benefits to the environment and not presonal cost.

The price to pay

According to an interview with Koshihara Mikio, professor of Professor of Engineering and Design for Timber Structures in Tokyo University, explains how the current cost of CLT is around 2000,000 JPY per Japanese Tsubo (3.3m2). When this is compared to the price range of reinforced concrete and steel which is 700,000 per Tsubo, an enormous price gap and is evident. The price of CLT is gradually decreasing with an increase in demand and cheaper wood supply and a target of matching the price for RC and steel. However, the question which arises is about whether this price is sustainable along the whole forestry chain. This price drop would have to be sustained by the forestry industry which requires the money for maintaining and improving the complicated ecosystem of Japanese forests. Professor Koshihara elaborates on this stating that the average price of a unprocessed, typical tree in Japan is 2,800. JPY, with an additional 500 yen to plant a new tree. If it takes 50-60 years for a tree to mature, it is difficult to make a profit.111 This results in the question: who should shoulder the additional costs of implementing CLT in buildings? Unless the consumer is environmentally conscience or passionate about wooden buildings, the average client would most likely opt for a cheaper, well proven alternative such as steel or RC. Since much of the benefits of using CLT in mass constuction lies with its stakeholders such as the Ministry of Forestry through the use of domestic 83

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timber and prevention of stagnation and the environment on the whole, it is possible that government subsidies should be provided for this material.

However in return, Japanese tax payers would be providing this in the form of an environmental tax. With the idea of a ‘green consumer’ not very common in Japan, this form of tax may not prove popular.

An alternative solution would be to utilize CLT in a holistic prefabricated component making factory which produces components for both residential and non-residential buildings. It would act in combination as a research facility and provide cost reductions through component standardisation and shared facilities. Based on the ideas of what ‘Japanese wooden’ architecture is, a new form of modular, wooden construction can be produced and utilised in a versatile manner across Japan.

Taking another step toward sustainable forest usage in prefab, the age of the tree used for which purpose must be taken into consideration. The larger the dimension of the solid wood used, the longer it takes to grow. [Figure 58-60] Therefore the costs of usage increase and the rate to replanting decreases.

This is detrimental to the forest cycle, as the more wood used in construction the more carbon stored and younger trees absorb more carbon from the air.

Before the existence of laminated wood, there was a dependence on old trees for large dimensions over 70 years old. Now trees as young as 20, can be laminated to form a variety of wood products including beams, columns and panels. In traditional construction, wooden columns are made from lumber 105mm and 120mm in diameter which come from 50 and 70 year old trees respectively. These sections of dimensional wood typically employ, Japanese carpentry for post and beam construction, while holding an aesthetically ‘Japanese feeling’ within the building as they do not require laminating. For parts where solid panels can be used and are not needed for aesthetic reasons, smaller dimensions in the form of laminated timber should be considered.

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Which tree?

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1.

1.1.1 pdf

FIGURE 58: The volume of forests by age

FIGURE 59-60: The dimensioned lumber sawn from various aged trees

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4.2 A new Japanese timber building What makes the use of timber in a Japanese building different from other countries? Unique cultural characteristic such as tatami mats, terraces, sliding doors, courtyards etc. described in the first chapter are apparent. Specifically looking at the construction of a typical 18th century house, it is the exposed post and beam structure set along a module, with its fastener free, skilfully crafted joints. In contrast to wood engineered panel construction, the post and beams utilise 105mm diameter columns at a 900mm grid. This style of ‘light weight’ construction is appealing as it allows for wide openings for windows and sliding doors which is evident throughout much of Japanese house building history. In addition to this, a greater number of components allow for the skill of architects and carpenters to be exhibited. The end result acts as a cultural ornamentation of the home.

How to utilise laminated wood products in a way which is associated with Japanese identity in traditional solid wood construction? This question makes it difficult for Japanese to identify with modern wood construction methods.

Looking at Figures 61-62, most Japanese nationals could identify this home as a traditional Japanese one. Looking at figures 63-64, although also made of wood, has a very different feeling about it. The lack of Japanese features, modules and smooth, plain surfaces contrasts greater to the prior style.

Although this CLT house, in many ways provides a more efficient envelop and beautiful interior, it can be seen as European style and not Japanese. The minka and machiya discussed in the first chapter are some of the first images that come to mind when thinking about traditional liveable Japanese buildings.

Temples and shrines were not designed for long-term living and just as a place of worship, so it not considered in this study. Nonetheless, in modern Japan there have been numerous examples of Japanese homes which link the past and present even if it is only in exemplar projects.

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The Japanese building

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FIGURE 61-62: Interior and exterior of traditional town house in Nara

FIGURE 63-64: Interior and exterior of modern prefab CLT house in Austria

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FIGURE 65: Asakura Choso Musuem

FIGURE 66: Yasuda House

FIGURE 67: Sakakura’s Old Iibashi House

FIGURE 68: Maekawa House

FIGURE 69: UIC Shrimp House

FIGURE 70: Kengo Kuma Cherry water villa

FIGURE 71: Atelier Bow Wow Tread house

FIGURE 72: Suppose design, House in Anjo

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Modern Japanese Design

Looking at the early 19th century before the second world war in the late Meiji period ( 1868–1912) and particularly Taisho period (1912-1826) there was a fusion of western ideas and Japanese ones. There are two exemplary buildings which exist to this day in Tokyo. One home is the Kusuo Yasuda’s Former Residence in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward built in 1919 [Figure 65], with all the typical Japanese spaces such as the Genkan, tea ceremony room and drawing room, but with western style rooms such as western-style drawing rooms with a piano and state of the art kitchen at the time and modern skylights.112 In a similar style, the Asakura Museum of Sculpture in Tokyo’s Taito ward acted as a home and school to renown scorulpt Fumio Asakura fumio purchasing it in 1907 and extending in it 1928 [Figure 66]. The building consists of an orginal residential wing of Japanese style and an selfdesigned extension with a studio wing in a Western western style.. The two are harmonized together through a three dimensional water garden.113 Moving forward to the Japanese modernism and inter/post war period, two prominent architects who worked for Le Corbusier’s Atelier, Kunio Maekawa and Juzo Sakakura made further developments in the idea of modern Japanese architecture.114 Both the Maekawa House [Figure 67] and Old Iibashi House (Domaine De Mikuni) [Figure 66] by Sakakura, hold remarkable similarities and identifiable Japanese features although incorporating European modernist ideas. The pitched roofs, visible wooden beams and wide openings all lend themselves to this image.115 Finally looking at the 21st century, there are numerous small and large architectural companies building wooden or partly wooden homes and large structures in a recognizable Japanese style [Figure 69-72]. The issue is that many of them are small scale and do not employ a fully wooden structure.

Looking at examples from renown companies such as UID, Suppose design, Atelier Bow Wow and Kengo Kuma and Associates, the use of timber in both interior and exterior spaces evokes sense of Japanese identity.

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The next step is to use these ideas explored by previous architects to create a universal wooden construction system to applied on a large, unified scale.

On these grounds, a structural system combing engineered panels and dimensional timber needs to be designed through a modulus that can be applied to all types of buildings, while maintaining this ‘Japanese style’. A single research and production facility could be establish to created such components and modules to supply the city with the buildings it needs through a sustainable process.

Although over the past few decades the construction of prefabricated housing has remained study as discussed in the previous chapter. Despite these figures, the numbers are set to decrease due to a decreasing population. This results in a need to apply these construction methods to other building typologies in the mega cities. Non-residential buildings must be targeted too for this process. A difficult matter in this approach is to find a system/ style that suits both residential/ non-residential buildings, small scale/ large scale buildings.

The use of timber in large scale public buildings is particular important due to the volume of timber required in its construction. It will act as a large carbon store and created a greater timber for Japanese wood products.

Another pressing question relating to material use in the city is why use wood instead of RC or steel? If it is not for the price, then some other form of value must be added. The idea of green-consumption and benefits to the forestry industry does not necessary interest the average customer. A possible answer revolves around attitudes and trends. If a wooden interior can become popularised as beneficial for-well being, seen as stylish and more luxurious than other construction methods than it can be pushed ahead.

Similar to the methods used by prefab house manufactures to sell their new lines of homes, a similar line of thought needs to be applied to marketing a new ‘Japanese wooden construction system’. Once interest has been spark and precedence has been set, a steady demand can be created within the city.

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Mass customization of wood

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4.3 The supply and demand chain The beneficiaries

In Figure 73, the flow chart summarises all the key proposals and links in the wood supply and demand chain, investigated in this study and the entities who benefit from its emboldening. Starting with the raw material supply; the forests. Co-ordinating both private and government owned forests with local mills and invigorate forest owners to capitalise on their land will move to help maintain the forests and organise their thinning, planting and harvesting.

The Government

The government (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) are the primary drivers in this as reshaping the forests and making them resourceful has a huge impact on the highly forested island. New engineered wood products and components which required advanced production lines can maximise profit from the raw material and provide quality products to export in Asia. The improved properties of engineering wood make it suitable for numerous climatic environments. The government benefits from Japanese using domestic wood and not imported ones. Thinning trees under 50 years old and harvesting trees when they mature, followed by replanting has been proven to be a sustainable cycle which aids the local ecology. Prevention of forest fires, landslides and decaying nature help Japan as a whole. In order to make the price of CLT competative with other materials without damaging the forestry industry, there must be subsidies offered. These costs can be cut by utilising this material in government owned prefab and research and design facilities which can produce construction modules applicable to numerous construction types at a massive scale.

Rural Communities

With the rapid urbanisation of Japan and diminishing jobs and villages in rural Japan, a rejuvenated forestry industry can give a reason for people to stay outside the mega cities. Improving logging equipment and infrastructure will benefit industries and local communities. Better connections through the 91

CHANGES

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Forestry and logging

Wood products

Technology driven improvements Bureaucratic stream lining Infrastructure improvement Link to government factory facilities

New engineered products Domestic wood focus Process product export focus Supplying to pre-fab Incorporate historic structures

PROCESS

Local Forests

20 Year tree for laminated wood

Loggers

Logging Auction

짜2,800 Per tree 짜500 Replant

Lumber Mills

National Forests

BENEFITS

짜200,000 / Tsubo wholesale 짜70,000 / Tsubo in factory

Government

Rural communities

Forestry becomes profitable Forests can be maintained and organised Exports of wood products boost the economy

Infrastructure allows rural accessibility Encourage new workers to settle New jobs and revenue for locals

FIGURE 73: Proposed wood supply chain

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Modular Wood Prefabrication Centre Government off-site manufacturing Standardize wooden components Export house components

Engineered Wood Export

Pre-fab Mills

Module + Design Wholesale

Wood Prefab Centre

High Prefab focus Promote wooden buildings High customisability of components Can provide both design and build

Wooden Module Export

Pre-cut Mills

Wood Product Factories

Clients + Contractors

Module supply

Non-Residential

+ Residential

Design + Build

Reclaimed Materials Factory wooden mass customization

Japanese families

Workers

Japanese Heritage

Cheaper material costs Higher custom-ability range Provide safe and comfortable home

New career nationwide opportunities New wood related-business potentials Solution for decreasing number of carpenters

Unique architecture are preserved Value is created in old structures Japanese wood culture revival

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countries encourages tourism and staying in easier to reach towns and cities.

Adding to this idea of bringing work to the countryside, wood products factories further emphasise this idea. With increased demand for wood with builders, and improved connections and links to local forests, the stream lining of the process will make the business more profitable. Government incentives to open up more mills and lumber yards will bring work to the locals and encourage people back from the city.

Cost reduction with rationalisation of production and supply to mega-cities

Workers

and growing foreign countries can become a potential boost to the economy.

Japan can learn by looking at case studies such as Finland, where the forestry industry contributes to over 20% of Finland’s export revenue. According to the Finnish Forest industries Federation, 3/4 of sawn timber production is exported along with the majority of wood-based panels. As for the country’s residents, 42,000 jobs are provided by the industry which pays salaries of 1.8 billion Euros annually.116 If Japan can follow suit, rural Japan can be revived.

A step further past the growth and supply of material, is the application of these. Contractors and house builders can develop a new marketing strategy for future generations which can compete with traditional systems in relation to time, costs and design.

Families looking for their ‘dream house’ are looking for something that is affordable, value for money and comfortable to live in. What material a house is chosen to be made from has numerous factors involved, ranging from costs, personal aesthetics and what’s on offer on the market. If engineered wood can compete with traditional materials and construction methods, it will depend greatly on whether domestic wood can become cheap. However, attitudes towards the use of wood can be improved through advertising, case studies and home shows demonstrating this new technology. People’s natural affinity with the warmth of wood and the homely feeling can be resurfaced if a new trend if produced.

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Japanese families

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Japanese heritage

Moving away from the economical and environmental benefits, one of the most invaluable beneficiaries would be to Japanese soft-power; its culture.

Building a new typology of Japanese wooden homes and public buildings would pay tribute to the heritage of wood and bring its construction to international attention again. Using the additional idea of reclaiming old wooden structures and bringing them into these new wooden homes, a stronger relational to Japan’s roots and identity can be vested.

While preservation of temples and other historic monuments are necessary, funded as tourist attractions and part of museums, once homes are turned into museums, they are no longer alive. By In relation to modern architecture, transferring this cultural affinity of wood to meet modern lifestyles, allows for this heritage to grow and breath again.

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CONCLUSION

FIGURE 74: Kanazawa Row houses

FIGURE 75: Tokyo’s post-war row houses

FIGURE 76: Osaka prefab houses

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CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

Moving forward

Over Japan’s architectural history, the capital had relocated numerous times often resulting from deaths of previous emperors and formations of new governments. The most prosperous and architecturally rich capitals of the pre-modern period are noted as Nara, Kyoto and Edo. When many tourists visit Japan, they wish to experience a classic Japanese feel which is encapsulated in these cities.

This study proposes a tech-driven, environmentally focused and Japanese orientated approach to prefab wood construction at for all scales of construction. A Design-build system, with close ties to the forestry industry can remove costs from construction, bureaucracy and excessive infrastructure to cover the costs of sourcing from domestic timber. Complete co-ordination as in the examples of Japanese prefab house or car makers can provide mass customizable designs or products direct to clients, architects and contractors, delivered on site in packages.

The typical streetscape of the city forms the identity and facilitates social interactions. From the Edo-period row house, to the nostalgic show-period neighbourhood the use of wood creates a unified image of a Japanese building. Looking into the current state of prefabricated homes with plastic veneers and jumbled buildings of various materials, something is clearly lost.

With modernization, wars and other disasters, much of this atmosphere has disappeared however there are many districts still preserved. Architectural atmospheres, features and craftsmanship that meet the needs and desires of the 21st century permits the continuation of Japanesque living. By reinvigorating the Japanese wooden building through new technology and linking it in with all stake holders involved, a cohesive and harmonious cycle can be persevered into future generations.

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Figures Figure 1 Hiroshige. Utagawa: Clear Weather After Snow At Nihonbashi Bridge (Nihonbashi Yukibare No Zu), From The Series Famous Places In Edo, Newly Selected (Shinsen Edo Meisho) - Museum Of Fine Arts.” Ukiyo-e Search. N.p., 2017. [Image]. 13 July 2017.

Figure 2 Rekishi Nippon. “Old Japanese Maps.” N.p., 2017. [Image]. 13 July 2017. https://rekishinihon.com/2013/03/22/old-japanese-maps/ Figure 3 Created by author: Japanese Eras. Info from “Japanese History.” Japan-guide.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 13 July 2017.

Figure 4 Photo taken by author: minka of Shirakawago Figure 5 Photo taken by author: machiya row houses of Kanazawa Figure 6 Photo taken by author: Various features of machiya Figure 7 Daichi Ano “Ginzan Onsen Fujiya . Kengo Kuma and Associates”. Retrieved 2017. [Photograph]. 5 July 2017. From kkaa.co.jp Figure 8 Daichi Ano “Ginzan Onsen Fujiya . Kengo Kuma and Associates”. Retrieved 2017. [Photograph]. 5 July 2017. From kkaa.co.jp Figure 9 Arribas Elsa. “Shinkamanza: An Innovative Machiya Townhouse Resort In Downtown Kyoto – Deep Kyoto.” Deepkyoto.com. N.p., 2017.

[Photograph]. 13 July 2017.

Figure 10 Good Design Works. “Shinkamanza: An Innovative Machiya Townhouse Resort In Downtown Kyoto – Deep Kyoto.” Deepkyoto.com. N.p., 2017.

Floor Plan. [Image] 13 July 2017.

Figure 11 Sawara Guide. Suigo-sawara.ne.jp. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 13 July 2017. http://www.suigo-sawara.ne.jp/abroad_en_ca3.html Figure 12 Go Central Japan. “Tsumago Post Town - Go! Central Japan.” En.go-centraljapan.jp. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 13 July 2017.

Figure 13 Photo taken by author: Takayama streetview Figure 14 Created by author: Japanese Eras. Info from “Japanese History.” Japan-guide.com. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 13 July 2017.

Figure 15 Sand, Jordan. Tokyo Vernacular: Common Spaces, Local Histories, Found Objects. University of California Press, 2013. Print. [Photograph] pg 75 Figure 16 Photo taken by author: Tokyo shitamachi Figure 17 Created by author: Personal space in Tokyo from the essay ‘Personal Space: The behavioural Basis of Environmental Design’ submitted to Professor Kazuhiko Nishide, Tokyo University 2016 Figure 18 Photo taken by author: Monzennakacho bar Figure 19 Harden David. “Yoshijima House: Symmetry & Simplicity : Soothed In The City”. Retrieved. 2017. [Photograph]. 5 July 2017. From http:// soothedinthecity.com [Photograph] Figure 20 Created by author: Housing with reclaimed wood Figure 21 Created by author: Dismantling old machiya Figure 22 Photo taken by author: Kyoto streetscape Figure 23 Photo taken by author: Hōryū-ji temple Figure 24 Photo taken by author: Daibutsu Hall, Nara Figure 25 Commons.wikimedia “File:World Heritage Sites By Country.Png - Wikimedia Commons.” N.p., 2017. [Image]. 14 July 2017 Figure 26 Forest Agency. State of Japan’s Forests and Forest Management ― 2nd Country Report of Japan to the Montreal Process ―. [Figure]. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from rinya.maff.go.jp, pg 11 Figure 27 Food And Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations ‘Maps And Figures’ | FAO |.” Fao.org. N.p., 2017. [Image]. 14 July 2017.

Figure 28 Forestry Agency (MAFF). Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan Fiscal Year 2015. [Figure] Fig.II-1: Growing stock in forest pg9 Figure 29 Forestry Agency (MAFF). Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan Fiscal Year 2015. [Figure] Fig.I-1: Change of forest age structure of planted forests pg3 Figure 30 Forestry Agency (MAFF). Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan Fiscal Year 2015. [Figure] Fig.IV-2: Japan’s wood exports pg 20 Figure 31 mgb ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN “THE CASE FOR Tall Wood BUILDINGS.” cwc.ca. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 14 July 2017. pg 37-39 Figure 32 Forestry Agency (MAFF). Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan Fiscal Year 2014. [Figure] Fig. I-2: Major wood products pg 4 Figure 33 Eastin, I., & Sasatani, D. (2016, October 19). Japan CLT Roadmap: Lessons for North America. [Figure]. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from unece. org, Figure 34 Created by author. Map of Laminated Lumber producing factories Figure 35 Portal site of official statisitcs of Japan ‘2013 Housing and Land survey, New dwellings started.’ [Figure] Retrieved January 19, 2017, www.e-stat.go.jp Figure 36 Forestry Agency (MAFF). Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan Fiscal Year 2014. [Figure] Fig. I-5: number of new housing starts, and production of paper and paperboard, pg 5 Figure 37 Created by author. Proposal for supply chain targeting the production of laminated lumber for prefabricated housing from essay written for ‘Needs inspired invention’ course, University of Tokyo Figure 38 Sekisui Heim ‘セキスイハイムのポータルサイト.’[Photograph] production line. N.p., 2017. Photo. 14 July 2017.

Figure 39 Matsumara, Shuichi. Prefabricated House-Building Systems In Japan. 10. Internationales Holzbau-Forum 2004, [Figure] 2004. Print. pg 7 Figure 40 Matsumara, Shuichi. Prefabricated House-Building Systems In Japan. 10. Internationales Holzbau-Forum 2004, [Figure] 2004. Print. pg 10 Figure 41 Francis, Paul. “Pairs Of Airey Houses, Hertford. September 1986.” Photobucket.com. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 14 July 2017.

Figure 42 Daiwa “Mizet house.” daiwahouse.co.jp. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 14 July 2017.

Figure 43 Vogler, Andreas, and Mick Eekhout. “The Development of the Industrial House.” The House as a Product. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: IOS, 2015. [Photograph] Pg 59 sourced from Information and Research Department, Policy Bureau Ministry of Land, infrastructure and transport Figure 44 Vogler, Andreas, and Mick Eekhout. “The Development of the Industrial House.” The House as a Product. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: IOS, 2015. [Photograph] Pg 66 sourced from 1993:Gann, 1996;2003: Annual reports of companies;*Inoue, 2004 Figure 45 Bock, Thomas, and Thomas Linner. “Large Scale Building System Manufacturing in Japan.”Robotic Industrialization: Automation and Robotic Technologies for Customized Component, Module, and Building Prefabrication. New York: Cambridge UP, 2015. [Photograph] Pg 130 Figure 46 Piller, Frank T, and Mitchell M Tseng. Handbook Of Research In Mass Customization And Personalization. Singapore: World Scientific Pub. Co., 2010. Print. [Photograph] ‘Mass Custom Design for Sustainable Housing Development’. Noguchi Masa Figure 47 Wilkinson Eyre Architects. “Maggie’S Oxford / Wilkinson Eyre Architects.” ArchDaily. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 14 July 2017.

Figure 48 Mayo, Joseph. Solid Wood. London: Routledge, 2015. [Photograph] h4 prefabricated wall elements . huber & sohn pg 175 Figure 49 Bereuter Adolf ‘alpenhotel-ammerwald’ olkaufmann.com [Photograph] 14 July 2017.

Figure 50 Acton Ostry Architects. “Construction Of The World’s Tallest Timber Tower Is Underway In Vancouver.” ArchDaily. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 14 July 2017. concrete core Figure 51 Acton Ostry Architects. “Construction Of The World’s Tallest Timber Tower Is Underway In Vancouver.” ArchDaily. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 14 July 2017. hybrid_structure_and_encapsulation Figure 52 Waugh Thistleton Architects. ‘Dalston Lane’ Waughthistleton.com. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 14 July 2017. Construction Figure 53 Waugh Thistleton Architects. ‘Dalston Lane’ Waughthistleton.com. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 14 July 2017. CLT Structure Figure 54 schluchtmann, ken. “Going Public: Kjetil Thorsen Of Snøhetta Interviewed By Timothy Moore.” ArchitectureAU.com N.p., 2017. [Photograph].

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Waugh Thistleton Architects. “The World’S Most Advanced Building Material Is... Wood.” Popular Science. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 15 July 2017.

ANATOMY OF A TIMBER TOWER Iqbal, Asif. “Research-CLT-In-Seismic-Retrofits.” buildmagazine.org.nz. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 15 July 2017. CLT panel retrofit hertzberg, bertil. “Tengbom Architects Design A Smart Student Flat.” designboom | architecture & design magazine. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 15 July

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2017. general living space KHL. “KLH: MK40 Tower.” Klhuk.com. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 15 July 2017.

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RO&AD Architecten. “Moses Bridge / RO&AD Architecten.” ArchDaily. N.p., 2011. [Photograph]. 15 July 2017. de Rijke., Alex. “Richard Wood’s Hackney Townhouse By Drmm Features His Painted Wood.” Dezeen. N.p., 2014. [Photograph]. 15 July 2017. storaenso. “CLT Modular Construction Video Finland.” Woodsolutions.com.au. N.p., 2013. [Video]. 15 July 2017.

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Duggan Morris Architects & Elliott Wood. “Alfriston School Swimming Pool.” Elliott Wood - Structural and Civil Engineers. N.p., 2014. [Photograph]. 15 July 2017.

Campos, Jose. “MIMA Light - A Prefab Minimalist Tiny House From Portugal.” Humble Homes. N.p., 2016. [Photograph]. 15 July 2017. architecturenow.co.nz “Building In The Digital Age.” Pinterest. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 15 July 2017.

Figure 55 Created by author : CLT panel cladding potential Figure 56 Created by author : The mass customizable potential of Japanese CLT prefab homes Figure 57 Jorge “The Past And The Future Contrasting In The Present Life Of Tokyo.” Amazingtokyolife.blogspot.jp. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 13 July 2017.

Figure 58 MAFF “Forestry In Our Country And Use Of Timber Overview.” http://www.rinya.maff.go.jp. N.p., 2011. Web. 19 July 2017. from PDF www. rinya.maff.go.jp/j/riyou/koukyou/attach/pdf/index-47.pdf pg 1 Figure 59 MLIT “ECO Site House Technology Development.” http://www.mlit.go.jp. N.p., 2011. Web. 19 July 2017. from PDF http://www.mlit.go.jp/ common/001138599.pdf pg 5 Figure 60 MLIT “ECO Site House Technology Development.” http://www.mlit.go.jp. N.p., 2011. Web. 19 July 2017. from PDF http://www.mlit.go.jp/ common/001138599.pdf pg 5 Figure 61 Photographed by author Interior of traditional town house in Nara Figure 62 Photographed by author exterior of traditional town house in Nara Figure 63 Hermes Robert “CLT House”. from clthouse.com, [Photograph]. Interior model January 19, 2017 Figure 64 Hermes Robert “CLT House.” from clthouse.com, [Photograph]. Exterior model January 19, 2017 Figure 65 Odigoer. “Asakura Choso Museum.” Odigo.jp. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 19 July 2017.

Figure 66 TOI/JWM. “Former Kusuo Yasuda Residence.” Japan-web-magazine.com. N.p., 2017. [Photograph].. 19 July 2017.

Figure 67 Junzo Sakakura Architect & Associates/Nagano. “Junzo Sakakura, Iibashi House (Domaine De Mikuni).” Uratti.web.fc2.com. N.p., 2017.

[Photograph]. 19 July 2017.

Figure 68 Rs1421. “Kunio Maekawa house.” En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2010. [Photograph]. 19 July 2017.

Figure 69 Ueda, Hiroshi. “Shrimp House UID.” Maeda-inc.jp. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 19 July 2017.

Figure 70 Attalia, Erieta. “Kengo Kuma & Associates, Erieta Attali · Water/Cherry.” Divisare.com N.p., 2012. [Photograph] . 19 July 2017.

Figure 71 Atelier Bow Wow “Tread House.” Bow-wow.jp. N.p., 2008. [Photograph]. 19 July 2017.

Figure 72 Suppose Design Office “House In Anjo.” Suppose.jp. N.p., 2015. [Photograph]. 19 July 2017.

Figure 73 Forestry Agency (MAFF). Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan Fiscal Year 2013. [Figure] Fig. I-2: The forest management cycle pg5 Kaufmann, O. Ruf, A (2015). Hotel bei Reutte. [Photograph]. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from www.detail.de, Ruault, P. Gallery of 50 modular timber apartments / PPA architectures - 29. [Photograph]. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from archdaily.com, http://www. archdaily.com Trada. (2016). A-short-introduction-to-cross-laminated-timber.Pdf. [Figure] CLT diagram pg 1 Kaufmann, O. Ruf, A (2015). Hotel bei Reutte. [Photograph]. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from www.detail.de, Kauffman. ‘Clt Image.’ Timberfirst.files.wordpress.com. N.p., 2017. [Photograph]. 15 July 2017.

Brandon Rachel ‘Living-In-An-Ageing-Society.’ Thewireless.co.nz. N.p., 2014. [Photograph]. 15 July 2017.

Harden David. “Yoshijima House: Symmetry & Simplicity : Soothed In The City”. Retrieved. 2017. [Photograph]. 5 July 2017. From soothedinthecity.com Forestry Agency (MAFF). Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan Fiscal Year 2013. [Figure] pg 1 Figure 74 Photo taken by author: Kanazawa streetview Figure 75 Photo taken by author: Taito-ku streetview Figure 76 Yamada, Keishiro. “Kakko House Is A 3.4-Metre-Wide Home In Japan.” Dezeen. N.p., 2015. [Photograph]. 19 July 2017.

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39 Sawara Guide. Retrieved February 7, 2017, from suigo-sawara.ne.jp, http://www.suigo-sawara.ne.jp/abroad_en_ca3.html 40 ucityguides “Most Beautiful Cities in the World.” http://www.ucityguides.com. Web. 22 July 2016.

41 Matsumara S. “Prefabricated House-Building Systems in Japan” 10. Internationales Holzbau-Forum 2004 pg 3 42 Waswo, Ann. “Housing in Postwar Japan: A Social History.” London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002. Print.

43 Lin, Zhongjie. “Kenzo Tange and the Metabolist movement: urban utopias of modern Japan.” New York: Routledge, 2010. pg 134 44 Seidensticker, E. G. (1991). Pg 206 45 allaboutjapan “Top 5 Busiest Train Stations In The World | All About Japan”. allaboutjapan.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 28 Apr.2017.

46 Waley, Paul. “Tokyo: City Of Stories.” 1st ed. New York: Weatherhill, 1991. Print. pg 246 47 Seidensticker, E. G. (1991). Pg221 48 Gryko M. ‘Personal Space: The behavioural Basis of Environmental Design 2016’ [Report] From Architecture and Cities 1 lecture series. Lecturer: Professor Kazuhiko Nishide 49 UNESCO “Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List” http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/jp Web. 22 Jan. 201.

50 Sacred Destinations “Todaiji, Nara Prefecture” http://www.sacred-destinations.com/japan/nara-todaiji Web. 22 Jan. 201.

51 KUS “Tokyo / shimouma” http://www.kus.co.jp/work-shimouma.html Web. 22 Jan. 201.

52 Ban, S. “What the Japanese can Learn from Europe’s Timber Construction Technology”, JA 89 Spring 2013 p.32 53 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. “Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015” Rome 2015, www.fao.org/3/a-i4808e.pdf pg. 13 54 Forest Agency. Japan “Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan.” FSL 2015 : Self-Sufficiency Ratio of Wood pg.1 55 Forest Agency. Japan “Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan.” FSL 2015 56 Forest and Fish “Sustainable forestry” http://www.forestsandfish.com/sustainable/ Web. 22 Jan. 201.

57 Forest Agency. Japan “Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan.” FSL 2013 : Multiple Functional Roles of Forests and Forest Management Activities pg 4-5 58 Forest Agency. Japan “Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan.” FSL 2015 : 2.2 State of the Major Wood Products Manufacturing pg 20-21 59 Forest Agency. Japan “Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan.” FSL 2014 : 3. Recent Trend in the Wood Products Industry and Future Challenges pg 8 60 Andrew Waugh “A foreword” vii. Mayo, J. (2015). Solid wood: Case studies in mass timber architecture, technology and design. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.

61 Mayo, J. (2015). Solid wood: Case studies in mass timber architecture, technology and design. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. Introduction: a story of building with wood pg 5 62 Mayo, J. (2015). Pg 12 63 Waughthistleton “Murray Grove | Waugh Thistleton Architects”. Waughthistleton.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

64 Mayo, J. (2015). Pg 50 65 Weiss,K. and Linegar, M. (2001) Interview, London, June 14.

66 Trada CLT Publication. Timber 2016 Industry yearbook. Trada.co.uk. A short introduction to cross-laminated timber 67 Eastin, I., & Sasatani, D. (2016, October 19). Japan CLT Roadmap: Lessons for North America. unece.org, www.unece.org, Summary of the CLT Roadmap 68 de Rijke, A. (2015, November 17). “21 reasons why wood is better:” Prof. Alex de Rijke. [Web] January 22, 2017, WoodSolutions, https://www. woodsolutions.com.au/Blog/21-Reasons-Why-Wood-is-Better-Prof-Alex-de-Rijke 69 Forest Agency. Japan “Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan.” FSL 2015 1.5 Wood Exports pg 20 70 Japan Lumber Manuel. Volume 56 Number 7, Wednesday, April 15, 2015 Interview with the Japan Cross Laminated Timber Association pg 3 71 Japan Lumber Manuel. Volume 56 pg 2 72 Forest Agency. Japan “Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan.” FSL 2015 : 3.2 Wood Use in Housing Sector pg 21 73 Forest Agency. Japan “Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan.” FSL 2015 : 2.2 Approaches to a Stable Supply System of Wood pg.4 74 Gryko M (2017) ‘Strategies for establishing a stable supply chain for developing a structural composite lumber (SCL) market in Japan’ [Report] University Entrepreneurship Tokyo university 75 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs “World Urbanization Prospects” WUP2014-Highlights.pdf from esa.un.org [Figure] pg 7 76 Noguchi. M “Communication approaches to marketing solar photovoltaic homes in Japan” The 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference, Tokyo, 27-29 September 2005 (SB05Tokyo) pg 2443 77 Forest Agency. Japan “Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan.” FSL 2014 : TOPIC 2. “Roadmap for Disseminating CLT” was Publicized pg 1 78 UN “World’s population increasingly urban with more than half living in urban areas.” (2010). Retrieved January 25, 2017, from un.org, http://www. un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/world-urbanization-prospects-2014.html 79 Statistics Japan prefecture comparison. “People living Alone” from http://stats-japan.com/t/kiji/11902 80 United Nations Environment Programme, 2009. “Buildings and Climate Change Summary for Decision-Makers” report from http://www.unep.org/sbci/ pdfs/SBCI-BCCSummary.pdf pg 6 81 Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. “Estimate of construction investment 2015” http://www.e-stat.go.jp/SG1/estat/ListE.

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do?lid=000001153925 82 United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). “World cities report 2016 Urbanization and Development:” Emerging Futures http://wcr. unhabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2016/05/WCR-%20Full-Report-2016.pdf pg54 83 Vogler, Andreas, and Mick Eekhout. “The Development of the Industrial House.” The House as a Product. Amsterdam: IOS, 2015. Pg 59 84 Inoguchi, T. (2003). Values and life styles in urban Asia: A cross-cultural analysis and sourcebook based on the AsiaBarometer survey of 2003. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo. pg 30-31 85 Inoguchi, T. (2003). pg 32-33 86 Matsumara S. “Prefabricated House-Building Systems in Japan” 10. Internationales Holzbau-Forum 2004 pg 3 87 Matsumara S. “Prefabricated House-Building Systems in Japan” 10. Internationales Holzbau-Forum 2004 [Figure] souced from Data from Ministry of Transportation and Construction pg 9 88 Noguchi, M., 2003. The effect of the quality-oriented production approach on the delivery of prefabricated homes in Japan. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, pg 353 89 Vogler, Andreas, and Mick Eekhout. “The Development of the Industrial House.” The House as a Product. Amsterdam: IOS, 2015. Pg 69 90 Statistics Japan prefecture comparision. “Homeownership”, from http://stats-japan.com/t/kiji/11963 91 Vogler, Andreas, and Mick Eekhout. “The Development of the Industrial House.” The House as a Product. Amsterdam: IOS, 2015. Pg 59 92 Noguchi, M., 2003. “The effect of the quality-oriented production approach on the delivery of prefabricated homes in Japan.” Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, pg 358 93 Vogler, Andreas, and Mick Eekhout. “The Development of the Industrial House.” The House as a Product. Amsterdam: IOS, 2015. Pg 61 94 Noguchi, M., 2003. “The effect of the quality-oriented production approach on the delivery of prefabricated homes in Japan.” Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, sourced from (JPA 1999, Suzuki et al., 1996) pg. 356 95 Noguchi, M., 2003. “The effect of the quality-oriented production approach on the delivery of prefabricated homes in Japan.” Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, pg. 358 96 Sekisui Chemical. sekisuiheim.com http://www.sekisuichemical.com/about/division/housing/earthquake/index.html 97 Noguchi & Friedman (2002) “ZEMCH: Toward the Delivery of Zero Energy Mass Custom Homes”. Springer 2002 pg 347 98 Noguchi. M “Communication approaches to marketing solar photovoltaic homes in Japan” The 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference, Tokyo, 2729 September 2005 (SB05Tokyo) pg 2446 99 Pine II, B.J. (1993). “Mass Customization: The New Frontier in Business Competition.” Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

100 Piller, F. T., & Tseng, M. M. (2014). “Handbook of research in mass customization and personalization.” New York, NY, United States: World Scientific.

Noguchi. M, Hadjri. K chapter 2.3 “Mass Custom Design for Sustainable Housing Development” pg 898 101 Wilkinson Eyre Architects “Maggie’s Oxford Centre”. Trada.com N.p., 2017. Web. 4 May 2017.

102 Huber & Son. (2010, October ). Auf Holz gebaut. from http://www.bauforum.at/architektur-bauforum/auf-holz-gebaut-17488 pg 175 103 Mayo, J. (2015). “Solid wood: Case studies in mass timber architecture, technology and design.” London, United Kingdom: Routledge. Pg 197 104 Mayo, J. (2015). United Kingdom: Routledge. Pg 197 105 UBC News. “Structure of UBC’s tall wood building now complete.” N.p., 28 Sept. 2016. Web. 11 July 2017 https://news.ubc.ca/2016/09/15/structureof-ubcs-tall-wood-building-now-complete/ 106 Waugh Thistleton Architects “Dalston Lane.” Waughthistleton.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 11 July 2017. http://waughthistleton.com/dalston-lane/ 107 Vogler, Andreas, and Mick Eekhout. 2015. Pg 69 108 Vogler, Andreas, and Mick Eekhout. 2015 Pg 69 109 Hoshi Nobu “An interview with Sekisui Heim” Interview. Mon 13 March 2017 110 Koshihara Mikio “Architecture and the City 1: Contemporary middle-rise timber buildings in Japan” Lecture. Mon 24 April 2017Finnish Forest Industries.

111 Koshihara Mikio “A discussion on the wood in the Japanese city” Tue 18 July 2017 (60 min) 112 Japan National Tourism Organization. “Kusuo Yasuda’s Former Home.” Japan Travel Info Blog. N.p., 2017. Web. 19 July 2017.

113 Taito city. “Art& Culture Foundation Of Taito.” Taitocity.net. N.p., 2017. Web. 19 July 2017.

114 Seligmann, Ari. “Japanese Modern Architecture 1920-2015.” Crowood Press (May 1, 2017). Print.

115 Reynolds, Jonathan M. “Maekawa Kunio And The Emergence Of Japanese Modernist Architecture.” Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. Print.

116 Finnish Forest Industries “Statistics - Finnish Forest Industries.” N.p., 2017. Web. 13 July 2017. https://www.forestindustries.fi/statistics/

Reports: Forestry Agency (MAFF). Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan Fiscal Year 2012 Forestry Agency (MAFF). Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan Fiscal Year 2013 Forestry Agency (MAFF). Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan Fiscal Year 2014 Forestry Agency (MAFF). Annual Report on Forest and Forestry in Japan Fiscal Year 2015 Forest Resources Development Service. (2007, June ). NATIONAL FOREST INVENTORY NFI JAPAN. Forest Agency. State of Japan’s Forests and Forest Management ― 2nd Country Report of Japan to the Montreal Process rinya.maff.go.jp Eastin, I., & Sasatani, D. (2016, October 19). Japan CLT Roadmap: Lessons for North America. unece.org, Trada. (2016). A-short-introduction-to-cross-laminated-timber. Trada.co.uk 2013 Housing and Land survey, New dwellings started., www.e-stat.go.jp

Bibliography Noguchi, M. Int. J. Mass Customisation, Vol. 4, Nos. 1/2, 2011 Enhancement of industry initiative through the Zero-energy Mass Custom Home Mission to Japan experience towards commercialisation Vogler, Andreas, and Mick Eekhout. “The Development of the Industrial House.” The House as a Product. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: IOS, 2015 Bock, Thomas, and Thomas Linner. “Large Scale Building System Manufacturing in Japan.”Robotic Industrialization: Automation and Robotic Technologies for Customized Component, Module, and Building Prefabrication. New York: Cambridge UP, 2015 Locher, Mira, Kengo Kuma, and Ben Simmons. 2010. Traditional Japanese architecture: an exploration of elements and forms. Tokyo: Tuttle.

Shoin Suiko Mitsumura. “Machiya Revival in Kyoto.” 2009 Edited by Kyoto centre for community collaboration: . Asano Yasuhiro, Nishi, K., Hozumi, K., & Horton, M. H. (2012). What is Japanese architecture? A survey of traditional Japanese architecture. New York: Kodansha Mayo, J. (2015). “Solid wood: Case studies in mass timber architecture, technology and design.” London, United Kingdom: Routledge.

Piller, F. T., & Tseng, M. M. (2014). “Handbook of research in mass customization and personalization.” New York, NY, United States: World Scientific.

Henrichsen, Christoph. Japan--culture of Wood: Buildings, Objects, Techniques. Boston: Birkhäuser, 2004. Print.

Seidensticker, E. G. (1991). Low city, high city: Tokyo from Edo to the earthquake - how the Shogun’s ancient capital became a great modern city, 1867-1923.

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Itoh, T. (1973). The classic tradition in Japanese architecture: Modern versions of the sukiya style (2nd ed.). New York: Weatherhill. translated from the Japanese by Richard L. Gage

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Young, M. K., & Young, D. (2004). Introduction to Japanese architecture. Singapore, Singapore: Periplus Editions/Berkeley Books Pte. Shoin Suiko Mitsumura. “Machiya Revival in Kyoto.” 2009 Edited by Kyoto centre for community collaboration: . Asano Yasuhiro Matsumara S. “Prefabricated House-Building Systems in Japan” 10. Internationales Holzbau-Forum 2004 pg 3 Waswo, Ann. “Housing in Postwar Japan: A Social History.” London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002. Print.

Lin, Zhongjie. “Kenzo Tange and the Metabolist movement: urban utopias of modern Japan.” New York: Routledge, 2010. pg 134 Seligmann, Ari. “Japanese Modern Architecture” 1920-2015. Crowood Press (May 1, 2017). Print.

Reynolds, Jonathan “M. Maekawa Kunio And The Emergence Of Japanese Modernist Architecture.” Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. Print.

Interviews Hoshi Nobu. “An interview with Sekisui Heim” Interview. Mon 13 March 2017 (60 min) Translated by An-ting Shyu Koshihara Mikio “A discussion on the wood in the Japanese city” Tue 18 July 2017 (60 min)

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Interview with Sekisui Heim General 総合的な質問 1.

Why is customized prefabricated housing more affluent in Japan, than in other countries? ⽇本におけるカスタムプリハブ住宅が世界の他国よりも流通しているのは何故か？

First of all, to possess a detached house on their own is considered one of the life dreams (accomplishment) in Japan. Culturally Japanese are less willing to live in a condominium. That resulted the High percentage of detached homes in Japan. Secondly, Japan has natural disasters that other countries doesn’t have. Unlike europe, to reform/ renovate a house for future use is not part of the culture in Japan.

There are other natural elements and circumstances such as natural disasters that other countries do not have, Japan has them. So in Europe they normally renovate to reuse housing but in Japan they tend to make new ones. After WWII, in the 1960s, there are many needs for housing because the population rises. The era after the war, there was a demand for fast construction so that they could meet the needs. prefabricated housing was the reasonable solution for this situation for it can be mass produced within short period of time. And was a feasible idea to elevate the quality of living as well as to increase the number of the housing. it became very popular. During the 60s and the 70s, many large families broke into smaller units and that’s why they needed more houses. But now the number of prefab housing and orders are decreasing.

2.

How is a modular Heim competitive over other home prefabricators?

他の住宅プリハブ業者と⽐べ、ハイムモジュールの競合優位性はどういったとこにあるのか？

I will explain the answer in contrast to panel construction. The most competitive point for applying modular construction is that 80% of the work is done in the factory, therefore there is less time spent on-site.

3.

What are the benefits of a modular system over a panelised one in Japan?

⽇本において、モジュール⼯法がパネル⼯法よりも優れている点は？ The plumbing and the parts can detach and make several combinations that customers like. Therefore it is more flexible compared to panel construction. As the number of Japanese craftsmen are decreasing, it is more competitive to make the building in the factory so they can control the quality of the construction more.

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4.

Which region/city in Japan has the highest modular home purchases? Where are the majority of the wooden modules sold? ⽇本において、モジュール住宅を⼀番購⼊している地域／都市は何処なのか？⽊質系商品が最 も売れている地域は何処か？

The answer is related to the population of the cities. Mainly Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka and other mega cities like Sendai, Hiroshima and Fukuoka. There are many local craftsmen who make timber structures and housing in the Tohoku region compared to other regions so Sekisui Heim are less in demand. Rather than in megacities, the timber modules/ homes are more popular in the Kanto area. Outside of Tokyo, for examples in Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Shizuoka, in the west, Okayama and Hiroshima. The main reason for wooden homes being popular in these areas is that the fire regulations are stricter in the mega cities and they do not meet the criteria the demand.

If the regulations change, there is potential to build more wooden homes. fireproofing design is required in Tokyo city due to the regulation, and there is no timber structure products that meets the criteria of regulation for semi-fireproof construction, thus sekisuiheim could not sell timber products within the city. With this said the regulations always go for the strictest standards and it is not likely to change.

Only if the wood technology improves to meet these standards can it be used.

5.

How does sales and construction of modular homes contrast between Tokyo and other cities? 他の⽇本の都市と⽐べ、東京における販売及び施⼯はどういう違いがあるのか？

Other than fire regulations mentioned early, the site boundaries are smaller in Tokyo so they must go taller. There is more demand for three storey housing compared to other cities in Japan. We use trucks to transport the units to the site and use a crane to put them I place. In Tokyo, the roads are narrower so it makes it more difficult to do this. To tackle this problem, we have different kinds of vehicles, custom made for narrow roads. The construction sequence is also different. The units are put in order and lifted by the cranes. This is the main difference between construction in Tokyo and other cities. In Sekisui Heim there are different types of modules which will be assembled on the site in Tokyo or create three storey high buildings.

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Wooden modules ⽊質系モジュールにおける質問 6.

Why are steel constructed Heims more popular than wooden ones? What is the cost difference between the steel and wooden Heim? 鉄⾻系商品が⽊質系商品よりも⼈気があるのは何故か？両者はコスト的にどういった差がある のか？

We don’t know if is related to the popularity of the product but we product 80% steel and 20% timber modules.

This is because the planning and structure of the steel module is simpler and easier to make compared to timber.

They way wooden modules are built, require additional parts and special walls, so it is more difficult to make. the structure of timber product is more complicated than SS. there are certain rules for construction for timber.

We have to consider the bearing of the structure depending on the size of the structure. In the market right now in Japan, customers request many variations, for example, the size of the window and position of the walls.

Customers care very much about the façade and shape of the housing so they have different types of windows. So these are all the same product (pointing at catalogue) but have many different windows. Therefore it is necessary to have many variations for the walls.

7.

Sekisui Heim pronounces itself as a ‘agent of change’ creator of new industries and employment opportunities. Developing a new wooden Heim could develop new industries within the wood supply chain. Has this idea been explored before within the organisation? セキスイハイムは「変化をもたらす存在（agent of change）」 というモットーを掲げ、⾃らを新たな 産業そして仕事を作り出すクリエーターというふうに称しています。新たな⽊質モジュール（CLT） の開発によって新たな産業そして供給連鎖が⽣み出されると思うのですが、 この可能性は組織 内で調査されたことがあるのか？

There is much research and exploration for new materials within the organisation. About the CLT, there is a lab in Tsukuba, so I went to observe the undergoing of this experiment. There is much research about CLT and how they can apply it to Heim products

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8.

Cross laminated timber modules have the potential to eliminate interior finishing and reduce the number of components utilised in the construction. Do you think that this could be a viable strategy for making the homes more affordable to middle income families?

CLTはインテリアの仕上げ作業を省いたりや施⼯においてもユニット内の構造躯体の部品数を 減らしたりする可能性を秘めているが、 これは中間層の家庭に向けるマーケティング戦略として 実⾏可能であると思うか否か？

We think using CLT will reduce the finishing of the exterior, in a way like the log house. There are a total of 2000 log houses either made or under construction annually. There are customers who like leaving the wooden exterior exposed, just like CLT with a timber finishing. 2000 families annually request this kind of aesthetic. It’s a personal liking to choose between the timber exterior finishing or to use plastic cladding. But now people are mainly liking the plastic cladding.

9.

What is the most popular exterior wall panel? What are the implications of introducing a fireproof wooden wall panel? 外壁のパネルとして⼀番⼈気があるのはどのマテリアルなのか？防⽕性能のもつ⽊製パネルの 導⼊はどういったことを意味するのか？ Originally Japanese traditional housing, used wood for the exterior finish but now more and more people care about whether there will be some cracks in the finishing so they prefer to use plastic cladding. They prefer easy maintenance and perfect image. Customers prefer applying laminated film on top of wooden structures to perfect the finishing. It is more expensive to apply a timber finish than typical sheets. People nowadays are preferring simplified and modern looking style housing than traditional Japanese style.

10.

Why do you think in Japan, western style prefabricated homes are popular? Do you think that a modern wooden Japanese style could be marketable? ⽇本で⻄洋スタイルのプリハブ住宅が⼈気なのは何故だと思うか？⽇本の現代⽊造住宅スタイ ルには市場性があると思うか？

the tendency of the likings of people in their 30s had changed. they like simple facade housings and they follow their strong preference (fixation) when it comes to decorating the interior and the quality of life.

Young people nowadays think that it is more reasonable to make western houses in Tokyo because they have narrower and smaller sites. However, if everyone had plenty of land for construction, people may go with the traditional housing instead.

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Future 将来における質問 11.

Has Sekisui Heim considered the potential in building and selling prefabricated condominiums in Japan? Do detached houses take preference over condominiums for the upper middle and higher wage earners? セキスイハイムはプリハブ集合住宅の建設及び販売の可能性を考えたことがあるのか？

For the steel modular products in Sekisui Heim, we have condominiums all over the nation, but mainly Tokyo.

Compared to private housing, condominiums are less popular. We are mainly making smaller condominiums, like apartments outside of Tokyo such as dormitories. Owning their own detaches homes for the Japanese, is deeply rooted in their culture.

12.

Is there potential for high rise modular construction in Tokyo?

東京における⾼層モジュールの建設の可能性はあるのか？

There are no high rise possibilities at the moment. There are height limitations for applying this modular construction up to 4 storeys. For timber structures, the height limit is 2 storeys. The 3 storey buildings are only for steel modules.

13.

Have investigations ever been made into ‘plug-in’ modular buildings such as in the experiments of the metabolist architects like Kurokawa? ユニットの取り換えなど、⿊川紀章などによるメタボリズムにおける所謂プラグインの研究はされ たことはあるのか？

We don’t use a system like this example, with a large structure and inserting units, however we can replace modules within existing homes. There are exhibition housing for customers to go and see the products before they buy them. These types of exhibition housing can last for 5 years and after this period, they are disassembled, brought back to factory and sold cheaper to people who want them.

14.

Will prefabricated housing maintain its demand in the future within Japan?

プリハブ住宅の需要は将来的にも維持し続けるのか？ Relating to the marketing share, Sekisui Heim only holds 2% in the prefabrication industry. There is potential for demand for prefabricated housing to rise because the decreasing number of craftsmen in Japan. We are developing a new type of housing called zero energy housing with solar panels applied to the roof so they can produce their own electricity. We apply these feature to 60% of the housing at the moment and this kind of ecological thinking may apply to the future needs in Japan, meeting the demands.

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15.

What is the future direction for Sekisui Heim?

将来的な⽅向性としてセキスイハイムはどう考えているのか？ Financially and ecologically speaking, we make zero energy housing so customers won’t be spending money on buying electricity. In relation to human health, we are developing housing that will maintain a certain temperature and humidity that is at the right level. We developing smart system housing that can control the internal environment such as temperature and lighting.

16.

Many of these products target upper middle and higher income families, is there potential for making more affordable modules?

We try to develop some ways to lower costs, by reducing the scale or using cheaper finishing for lower income families. We are producing housing with the same function but cheaper equipment that can be replaced in the future if the customers wish to renovate. Customers can buy a cheaper house in the first phase and then upgrade over time. This kind of process is popular because this idea of upgrading and improving, related to Japanese culture.

Finishing comments In England people use housing for 100 or 200 years, but in Japan, housing is only used for 30 years. This idea of build and scrap is not very good, therefore we want to build a house that has a longer lifespan such as 80 years. It can be made in a cycle, so if the customers buy this house and decide to move out, they can sell it to new buyers.

This way there will be less waste environmentally. the fundamental idea for taxation in japan is based on the concept of depreciation. if the tax law changes, the using cycle of housings would definitely change. In Japan, after 30 years the value of a house will go almost to zero, but the value of the land remains. If people want to move, the property has no value and if it is demolised, it will cost more money to do. If after 30 years, the owners do not want to live in their Sekisui Heim product, then they will rent it, rather than sell it because the house is still in good condition. They can take loans using the income from the rented house and then buy another one. It is a common condition that Japanese only change homes once in their lifetime. When a family has children and the children grow up, they leave the house so the parents are left alone in a large house. Therefore the parents would often move to a smaller house, so the demand for smaller homes is increasing.

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