Every year, GSEP Off-Campus Project takes students beyond the classroom to explore the world of Japanese engineering through hands-on site visits. It’s a chance to see innovation in action, connect with real-world applications, and gain new perspectives. For the 2024 academic year, GSEP students and faculty set off on a two-day journey from February 26th to 27th, visiting cutting-edge sites across Tochigi and Ibaraki Prefectures.
In this four-part blog series, we will share their stories filled with discoveries, reflections, and memorable moments. The first episode features a reflection by Nguyen Duc Nhat Minh, a second-year GSEP student from Vietnam, who shares his insights and experiences from the visit to Sekisui House Eco First Park in Ibaraki.
Sekisui House Eco First Park: Blending Technology and Nature
The first visit of our Off-Campus Project on 26th February was a trip to Sekisui House Eco First Park, an innovative experimental facility located in Ibaraki. The facility is operated by Sekisui House, the first housing company that has been certified as an “Eco-First Company” by the Japan Ministry of the Environment in 2008. Eco First Park seeks to bridge the gap between technology and the environment, creating a house that seamlessly blends the convenience of modern technology with the beauty of nature.
We were greeted by two Neko-chans lounging on the veranda of the House of Wind, an experimental house built around the concept of sustainability. My first impression was the futuristic exterior combined with a traditional Japanese veranda and moving windows on the rooftop, which turned out to be smart windows that can regulate the ventilation based on surrounding conditions. Stepping inside the house, I felt a gentle natural airflow through the veranda in a full-of-light environment without any artificial illumination.
Next to the House of Wind is the House of Tomorrow, again, it is a fusion of the elegance of Japanese design with the convenience of technology. I felt like all the modern technology, like solar panels, sensors, and control screens, had been transported back in time and applied to Japanese houses. The first two houses left me with many inspiring ideas of how housing in the future could look like, showing me housing could breathe with the environment rather than sacrifice it.
Wooden House left me with the deepest impression, I was surprised by how home appliances can be smartly interconnected. From small innovations like a bed equipped with scales to track the user’s body weight, to a central control screen linked to not only everything inside the house such as appliances, lighting, energy use, family members’ information, but also to information outside the house like disaster prevention and weather. Every corner of the house revolves around the family members, such as the working space with mirrors overlooking the living room and a small fish pond, facilitating the relationship with family members and with the environment. The Wooden House had reshaped my view on smart homes, it is not about sacrificing modern comforts for sustainability, it is about weaving them together. It is a practical dream for housing to ensure all essential functions are elevated to an incredible level.
Our tour ended with a visit to the Recycling Center, where we were shown the processes of separating waste into 80 categories, ensuring 100% of waste is recycled. The system was built on Sekisui House’s successes of zero waste at all its factories and construction sites by 2005. Nearby, there was also a classroom with appliances made from recycled waste, serving as an educational hub for students to learn more about sustainability.
Visiting Eco First Park opened my eyes to many different innovative perspectives on smart houses, proving they could not only serve the convenience of humans but also ensure environmental sustainability. The morning ended with souvenirs of wet tissues and bottles of mineral water to conclude my first practical experiences with sustainable and innovative housing in Japan.