Updated by "Forest Circular Economy" Editorial Board on October 17, 2025, 9:09 PM JST
Editorial Board, Forest Circular Economy
Forestcircularity-editor
We aim to realize "Vision 2050: Japan Shines, Forest Circular Economy" promoted by the Platinum Forest Industry Initiative. We will disseminate ideas and initiatives to promote biomass chemistry, realize woody and lumbery communities, and encourage innovation in the forestry industry in order to fully utilize forest resources to decarbonize the economy, strengthen economic security, and create local communities.
Life Design Kabaya, whose core business is the sale of wooden houses, won both the "Good Design Award 2025" and "Wood Design Award 2025" for its "Regional Recycling-oriented Housing Supply Chain CLT Hybrid Construction Method" project, which is being promoted through industry-government-academia collaboration in Okayama Prefecture. The project, which aims to build a sustainable housing supply chain rooted in the local community, was recognized for both its design and its ability to solve social issues.
This project aims to solve a problem facing the Japanese housing industry. Despite the abundance of forest resources in Japan, the country relies heavily on imported timber for housing and does not make sufficient use of local timber. In Okayama Prefecture, where the company is headquartered, the company has launched an initiative aimed at building a sustainable housing supply chain rooted in the local community, in which prefectural timber is distributed and consumed stably within the prefecture.
This is more than just a slogan of "using prefectural timber. In order to overcome the situation where approximately 50% of the lumber produced in Okayama Prefecture is not utilized locally, the company has developed the CLT Hybrid Construction Method, an original wood-frame construction method that also uses prefectural lumber for foundations and pillars. In addition to building a supply chain in collaboration with local government, local companies, and local universities, the company continued to promote the importance of utilizing local timber through educational programs, in-house training, and public relations activities.
The W award is a reflection of society's high expectations for this highly challenging project, in which industry, government, and academia have collaborated to solve local issues and utilize forest resources, transcending the boundaries of a single company. This project offers a solution to the nationwide problem of timber utilization, which tends to stagnate due to dependence on inexpensive imported timber and deteriorating profitability of the forestry industry, while failing to fully utilize the abundant forest resources.
Reference Links
Double Winner of the Good Design Award and the Wood Design Award | Life Design Kabaya
2025 Good Design Award Regional Circulation Housing Supply Chain
206 Award-winning Works of "Wood Design Award 2025" have been selected! (Sponsored by Japan Wood Design Association)
