Watanabe Komuten's Custom-Built "House of Natural Wood" Wins Both "Juror's Award" and "Excellence Award" at "House of the Year 2025"

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Watanabe Komuten Co., Ltd. (President: Hitoshi Watanabe, Headquarters: Tobishima-mura, Ama-gun, Aichi Prefecture) (https://www.watanabekomu.co.jp/), since its founding in 1907, has been a locally-rooted company developing a comprehensive construction business in a wide range of fields, focusing on custom-built houses, traditional shrine and temple architecture, public building construction, and renovations. Notably, we constructed the "Seimei-den" at Ueno Tenmangu Shrine and the "Seiu-tei" tea house in Shirotori Garden, which was a venue for the World Design Exposition, earning the honor of the Japan Art Academy Prize and proving our technical prowess.

We are pleased to announce that Watanabe Komuten's custom-built house, the "House of Natural Wood," has won both the "Juror's Award" and the "Excellence Award" at the "House of the Year 2025" awards program, sponsored by the Japan Center for Area Development and Research.

The award ceremony was held on May 7, 2026 (at the Kazan Kaikan in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo).

Terao Juror's Award (Certificate)

Excellence Award (Certificate)

Watanabe Komuten's "House of Natural Wood" is committed to the idea that Japanese houses should be built with wood grown in Japan, using natural "Tono Hinoki" cypress from Higashi-Shirakawa Village for its structural frame. Natural wood is also used abundantly for interior materials, creating a design that leverages the material's qualities. Furthermore, by making the building highly airtight and insulated and introducing whole-house air conditioning, residents can live comfortably throughout the year.

We believe this dual award recognizes our company's technical capabilities in home building and our environmentally conscious initiatives. We will continue to further strengthen our technical capabilities and actively implement plans for local production for local consumption and environmental consideration.

"House of the Year" is an award system that recognizes outstanding houses that contribute to total energy saving and CO2 reduction by considering the building envelope and equipment as an integrated unit. A judging committee composed of academic experts conducts fair, neutral, and rigorous evaluations.

List of "House of the Year 2025" Winners

https://jcadr-or-jp-archive.jcadr.org/HOYE/house-2025top_result.html