Daiwa House Group Technology

Nobuo Ishibashi, the founder of Daiwa House Industry, noticed that a typhoon was unable to break the stems of rice plants or bamboo. This gave him the idea of building prefabricated houses using steel pipes, and because of this, Daiwa House became a pioneer in Japan's prefabricated house industry.
Since our founding, we have used technology to support businesses that serve the needs of society.
Going forward, too, we will demonstrate to young engineers the fulfillment that comes from the practice of manufacturing, thereby firmly cementing the reputation of Daiwa House as a technology powerhouse. We will also fully adopt digital technology in our construction operations, to speed up a reform of the working culture of our engineers and other staff with specialized skills, and lead the way in realizing sustainable growth for Japan's construction industry.

Yoshiyuki Murata
Executive Vice President
Head of Technology Coordination Department
Head of Production Headquarters
Head of Research Headquarters

Transforming Daiwa House into a technology powerhouse

Right from the founding of Daiwa House Industry, we have been pressing forward with the industrialization of construction – the Company's foundational concept. Now, as ever, we continue take up new challenges in this field.
Our efforts have encompassed a wide range of initiatives, from the construction of housing and commercial buildings, through the planning and development of whole communities, to carbon-neutral projects, the reform of working styles via digital transformation, and more. With each successive generation, we seek out technologies that can be of service to the world.

The research and production system
that supports the Daiwa House Group's technology

The Central Research Laboratory

The laboratory staff use technology to address issues that people encounter in their residences, with the goal of offering a vision of a future society where people's dreams can become reality.

Factories

We manufacture high-quality, high-precision parts, enabling faster assembly at construction sites. Our factories are the centers where the industrialization of construction becomes physical reality.

The Fujita Technology Center

The staff of our Fujita Technology Center engage in research and development in a wide variety of technologies, not only in the construction field, but also environmental technology, remote control technology, and damage mitigation from earthquakes, fires, and others.

The starting point for the Group's technology

The first commercial product of Daiwa House Industry was the Pipe House, which employed steel pipes. This was the first example of our "industrialization of construction" initiatives, and was developed in response to a shortage of timber in Japan. Next came the Midget House, which was the first step leading to today's prefabricated house market. This product met the needs of Japan's rapidly growing population at that time, and was popular because it could be erected in only three hours.
These successful products were born out of our desire to use our technologies to meet the changing needs of each generation.

The Pipe House – our first product

Nobuo Ishibashi, the founder of Daiwa House Industry, noticed that the stems of rice plants in the fields, as well as bamboo stems, did not break despite the fierce winds of a typhoon. This was because they are hollow tubes, and this gave Mr. Ishibashi the idea for using light but strong steel pipes in construction.

The Midget House – the start of Japan's prefabricated house industry

The Baby Boom made a lot of existing Japanese houses too cramped, and to solve this problem Daiwa House developed a revolutionary type of study room that could be erected in only three hours.

Technological change

From the founding of Daiwa House Industry in 1955 to the present day, our technologies have undergone great changes, keeping pace with changes in Japanese society.

Technological progress

Under the banner of "industrialization of construction" we have constantly sought to realize high quality and short construction times in all stages of our business, from product development to design, production, erection, and maintenance. While expanding our operations from housing to modular construction, general construction, and civil engineering, we have at the same time further developed our technologies. The technological expertise we have built up has been put to invaluable use in urban development projects and multi-purpose development, which call for comprehensive strengths. And we have applied the experience gained in these projects to develop our technologies still further.

Housing technologies

Steel-frame houses

As a pioneer in steel-frame housing, in which we have realized our aim of "industrializing construction," we leverage our technological expertise to offer home owners safe and comfortable residences.

Wooden-frame houses

Leveraging our steel-frame technology, we have developed high-quality wooden-frame houses. By effectively utilizing Japan's forestry resources, we help with forest regeneration and contribute to the revitalization of regional economies.

Rental housing

We aim to develop high-quality products that provide value for property owners, tenants, local communities, and regional environments alike.

Construction technology

Modular construction

As the culmination of our years-long efforts in the industrialization of construction, we use modular construction systems to standardize both parts and processes, enabling us to offer high-quality commercial-use buildings with short construction times.

General construction

We leverage the technology we have built up in the prefabricated house business to meet a wide range of commercial construction needs, including warehouses, offices, factories, and large-scale shopping centers.

Fujita's technology (construction & civil engineering)

Fujita has introduced proprietary technologies using robotics and ICT into the construction and civil engineering fields, and is pursuing further initiatives in both construction and urban planning.

Daiwa Lease's technology

Daiwa Lease focuses on modular construction systems to develop products in new building construction and temporary structures. It is also putting efforts into developing technologies and products that address energy conservation and environmental greening needs.

Urban planning, multi-purpose development projects, and regional revitalization

Urban planning and multi-purpose development projects

We offer multi-purpose projects that bring a wide variety of business together, and promote sustainable community development. We are also pushing ahead with a project to restructure and revitalize suburban-type housing developments.

Public housing of natural disasters

When natural disasters strike, the supply of housing is a matter or urgency. We offer emergency temporary housing and permanent public housing for disaster victims. We do our utmost to revitalize the economies and cultures of disaster-hit regions.

Taking up the challenge of new technologies

We constantly consider what we can do to make the world better in the near future. Using the new technologies that emerge from these efforts, we attempt to address various social issues. To help realize carbon neutrality, we leverage the decarbonization of construction methods, and we strengthen our technology and manufacturing bases through the adoption of a digital transformation. We make optimal use of the technological expertise we have accumulated to help achieve still further goals.

Carbon neutrality

We are speeding up the process of decarbonization throughout our entire value chain by developing houses (ZEH) and buildings (ZEB) whose construction and maintenance boasts net zero energy input, as well as by adopting renewable energy sources.

Our carbon neutrality strategy

Digital transformation

Through a digital transformation using Building Information Modeling (BIM) and other digital tools, we hope to reform our manufacturing culture and working styles, paving the way to realization of a next-generation industrialization of construction.

Overseas operations

We are pursuing various projects to meet local needs, including housing and industrial parks. By leveraging modular construction, in which individual components are made in a factory, and in other ways, we are expanding know-how relating to the industrialization of construction in local markets.

New businesses

We are putting our strengths to good use in industrializing agriculture with indoor vegetable growing facilities, as well as industrializing the fishing industry with land-based aquaculture facilities. In such ways, we are helping address such social issues as Japan's food self-sufficiency rate.