The BUILDER Chōwa Concept Home project outside Las Vegas was unveiled this month, and looking back on the dozens of tours the project’s leaders gave during CES 2020 and the NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS) shows, they probably wish the crew had installed a revolving door at the entrance.
I have written about how the project’s embrace of the Japanese philosophy of “chōwa” can address many wants and needs of the American homeowner. Now, I want to focus on why this project shows home builders how to strike a balance between generating profits and improving society through housing.
Sekisui House, its U.S. subsidiary Woodside Homes, and BUILDER Online are the project leaders. They have recruited an industry who’s-who list of partners including Howard Hughes Corporation, KTGY Architecture + Planning, L.R. Nelson Consulting Engineers, Ryan Young Interiors, and Summers/Murphy & Partners Landscape Design.
The BUILDER Chōwa Concept Home is a model for supporting occupants’ health and well-being. But addressing these key considerations and keeping home prices affordable does not require builders to sacrifice profitability.
The business benefits of improving society
It’s important to note this is a concept home. Based in Howard Hughes Corp.’s west-Las Vegas master planned community of Summerlin, it is a spectacular 5,400 square-feet house that features cutting edge smart home technologies, high-end appliances, beautiful landscaping, and a water terrace that provides sanctuary and privacy.
But the primary goal is to show all builders how they can apply the Sekisui House technologies and systems, such as the innovative SHAWOOD framing system, to any size project anywhere in the country. No matter those variables, builders can construct homes that are more resistant, durable and able to withstand extreme weather conditions than the traditional stick frame structure, and do so much faster.
I encourage you to read this article by BUILDER’s Editor-in-Chief John McManus that examines how the Las Vegas-based crews applied the SHAWOOD post-and-beam technology - which they’ve never used before in the U.S. - to frame the Chōwa Concept Home in record time.
All structural components, the entire exterior wall system, and exterior cladding were manufactured to precise accuracy in Sekisui House factories near Tokyo, and shipped to the U.S. That made assembly easier, faster and more accurate compared to following traditional building processes, and on-site workers do not need specialized skill sets.
“The system is so simple, you can’t mess it up,” Woodside’s Las Vegas division president Kent Lay and project supervisor Michael Salerno told McManus. “The kinds of planning, building systems, proprietary tools, and processes Sekisui House brought to this project for the first time in the U.S., resulting in a framing crew that didn’t even speak the language being able to understand it and do it … that’s what amazes me about this endeavor.”
Notice how the long single roof line and the deep eaves that connect the inside and outside combine to bring the outdoors into the internal spaces. It represents the integration of strong and beautiful concrete tiles, a self-adhered high temperature underlayment and other lightweight materials that are easy for crews to quickly load, handle and install.
Imagine the time- and cost-savings that this approach and its systems will enable builders to realize, and just as importantly, pass along to their customers.
Promoting health and sustainability
The great room provides a fluid connection to the outdoors, with openness on both sides, and a flood of natural lighting.
These design elements extend to every room. All second floor rooms grant access to a wrap-around balcony.
The builders also incorporated innovative products that achieve new heights in design, efficiency and sustainability, such as a water controller that manages all household water usage, detects leaks and protects the home with remote or automatic shutoff. The plumbing features touchless flush plate designs, and the toilet tanks are inside the walls to provide more design space.
Several smart technologies, building materials and design elements combine to enable the house to achieve net-zero energy consumption. Just a few examples on the inside include the open cell spray foam insulation that delivers superior insulating and air-sealing properties, a connected energy monitoring system that integrates with Google Assistant-enabled devices to provides insights into energy use, and offers whole home surge protection by blocking surges at the electric panel to protect all electronics, even those not plugged into power strips. The smart home health and well-being system communicates with myriad technologies and systems to deliver a healthier whole-home environment.
Outside, the water terrace features the traditional Japanese arbor, or Azumaya, that appears to float on the water. Sekisui House’s porcelain cladding and stucco create a balance of east and west, local and traditional materials, while all being durable enough to withstand the harsh Las Vegas sun. Although you cannot see them, solar panels are built into the south side roof.
As remarkable as the BUILDER Chōwa Concept Home project is, I’m even more excited by the prospect of what happens next. How will U.S. companies integrate these elements into their next projects to build sustainable and resilient homes that are affordable to most American home buyers? Will this project kick-start a new era of innovation across the industry? If so, what new technologies, systems and processes will American companies introduce not just to the U.S. market, but to the world?
I think this project is the first stepping stone along the path to answering these questions.
For more information, please visit the BUILDER Chōwa Concept Home website.
