Raising environmental awareness in the community through large-scale park development coupled with the Gohon no ki Project

The ongoing Tehaleh Community Development Project located on a 19-square-kilometer site near Seattle is a large-scale development of 9,500 planned dwelling units alongside commercial, office, and R&D facilities. Discovery Park, an extensive 7.3-hectare project, is currently under construction. Working together with the residents, we have created a conceptual plan that creates synergies with other preservation zones and open spaces in the surrounding area.
In addition, from a location adjacent to the local elementary school, we have planted native tree species and installed birdhouses as part of the Gohon no ki Project so that young people in the area can learn more about the natural environment.
Here, we are developing an environment in which plants naturally pollinate and are creating spaces that make local residents more aware of the need to live in harmony with nature.

The Tehaleh Project

Enhancing Woodside Homes’ development of environment-friendly products

The State of California is committed to environmental conservation and has been proactive at enacting environmental legislation. Laws mandating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions have been enacted, and legislation requiring new homes to be equipped with photovoltaic panels was introduced in 2020, marking the first time such a policy has been adopted in the U.S.A. Our subsidiary, Woodside Homes, has been actively strengthening their environmentally-friendly product development in alignment with the revisions to the state’s environmental and energy-efficiency standards for buildings.
In Glendale, Arizona, a LEED certified*¹ eco-friendly community opened in 2022. Additionally, a Net Energy Ready Home (ZERH) community was opened in Prescott, Arizona in April 2022, with the products in the community recognized as the most impressive and advanced homes among builders offering ZER homes, winning the U.S. Department of Energy 2022 Housing Innovation Award in July of the same year. There are currently six active LEED-certified communities in Arizona, with all homes in the communities Zero Energy Ready certified.
A prototype Zero Net Energy Home (ZEH) model home has also been built at Boulder at Sky Ranch, a community located in West Jordan, Utah, winning the U.S. Department of Energy 2023 Housing Innovation Award in July of the same year.

*1: A certification system developed and implemented by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) that evaluates the environmental credentials of buildings and sites.

Offering options for healthy home living

In October 2020, Woodside Homes introduced the Healthy Home Package, which embodies the idea that the health of residents is of paramount importance. The company then released the Conscious Comfort Package, an option that combines solar panels, high-performance thermal insulation, and high-efficiency home appliances to offer a comfortable way of life that is also eco-friendly.

U.S. first all-SHAWOOD community.
Making Sekisui House technology the global de facto standard.

In January 2020, we became the first* Japanese house builder to exhibit at the largest U.S. trade show for the housing industry, the International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas. There, we constructed and opened to the public the first SHAWOOD concept home in the United States (Sekisui House’s original wooden house model). Built to the U.S. equivalent of ZEH housing, it incorporates Bellburn porcelain panels for exterior walls that offer fire protection and low maintenance. It also features high seismic resistance, solar power generation, and storage batteries. It was highly evaluated by the participants for suggesting ways to address societal issues that have arisen in the United States.
A pilot SHAWOOD community was also opened in Las Vegas in 2021 with successful sales to date. The first full-scale SHAWOOD community in the U.S. was then opened in Temecula, California with further expansion of SHAWOOD across the country.
These efforts show our commitment to making a better society through housing while aiming to resolve issues through the transfer of SHAWOOD technology to the U.S.

*Our research of various display materials suggests we were the first Japanese housebuilder to exhibit at IBS, an annual housing fair that attracts more than 85,000 participants involved in the construction industry as well as institutional investors from around the world. A “concept home” is a full-size model home exhibited by a selected company. We constructed our concept home exhibit at IBS 2020 in collaboration with Woodside Homes.

Expansive windows and openings bring light in and create sense of space as only SHAWOOD can.

Contributing to local communities by participating in charities and other events

Since 2019, Woodside Homes has been participating in the Dream Home Giveaway*¹, a seriesof charity events held by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital*². Starting in Las Vegas, our ongoing participation also extended to Sacramento in 2020.
These events are held in about 40 cities across the U.S.A. Woodside Homes covered almost all the construction and material costs associated with construction of the lottery homes in Las Vegas and Sacramento. By supporting the activities of St. Jude hospital, it is helping to improve pediatric medical services in the U.S.A.
Woodside Homes also contributes to local communities by participating in various charity events, while its employees take part in local cleanup events.

*1: A charity lottery in which a portion of solicited donations, in the form of houses and land, are awarded to the lottery winners
*2: Established in Memphis, Tennessee in 1962, this globally renowned pediatric treatment and research facility provides medical treatment to children and supports their families free of charge.

Groundbreaking ceremony for the home provided by Woodside Homes to the Dream Home Giveaway charity event