More and more housing suppliers are pitching eco-friendly "symbiotic housing" that incorporates traditional Japanese aesthetic values such as the texture of wood and the ability to reflect seasonal changes.
The trend comes more than a decade after the state and housing industry first began developing materials compatible with the environment.
The results of these efforts -- highly adiabatic-efficient walls and double-pane windows, efficient heat pumps and floor-heating systems -- have begun to spread rapidly in recent years, claimed an official of the Institute for Building Environment and Energy Conservation.