Misawa Homes endeavors to preserve the environment by building residential communities in which people can live in symbiosis with nature. Among the keys to creating environmentally friendly communities in harmony with nature are to create natural landscapes that are in tune with the local climatic conditions. This involves paying careful attention to the selection of shrubs, trees, and exterior materials.

As an example, when we created the “Hills Garden Sakuragawa” community in Fukuoka Prefecture we carefully considered the existing natural features for lot allocations and road planning. The development utilized many environmentally friendly products such as M-Wood for benches and tables in the park and park lights powered by solar generation systems.

“Hills Garden Kiyota” is another residential community we developed in Sapporo, Hokkaido. All of the houses are equipped with photovoltaic systems, and it is one of the world’s largest such communities. Both developments have won many awards. Misawa Homes firmly believes the more beautiful and environmentally friendly the community the higher its asset value.

Hills Garden Sakuragawa

Hills Garden Kiyota

Misawa designers consider micro climate in planning and developing residential communities. The residential community “Mariners East 21 Midorihama” is a model development based on micro climate design approach. The site was subject to winds from the sea because it sat on flat, reclaimed land. The wind effect was exacerbated by the surrounding medium-rise buildings.

Our designers planted many trees to reduce the wind to gentle breezes, placing evergreen trees densely between the houses on the lots at the community ends. Deciduous trees, planted in a balanced way, block sunlight penetration of the homes in summer, but in winter their fallen leaves allow sunshine to warm the houses. This means less energy is required for both heating and cooling.

Comprehensive planning of the community, which integrates environmental influences, building orientation, surrounding landscape, and other parameters, utilizes natural energy resources effectively and thus reduces energy expenditure. This results in a reduction of CO₂ emissions. A survey of the community’s residents in 2004 and 2005 revealed the residents have a high opinion of the natural feel of the community.

Mariner East 21 Midorihama