Nakamoto Forestry Yakisugi on a Zero-Energy Project

Our timberland management in Japan is focused on sustainability and our manufacturing side is focused on ethical products for healthy living, so we get excited about passive houses or other types of projects in which our customers’ interests are aligned with ours. They are being built all over the US and Canada, and last year one of them was completed here in Portland which we were able to monitor at close range throughout the process. 

Eric Antonini’s home, just a 35-minute drive from our warehouse in Portland, Oregon, is the first of its kind in the Lake Oswego area south of Portland. With a background in commercial real estate and management of a yoga studio chain, Eric got excited about building his own home ethically and at good value. He started by taking a sustainable construction class at the local community college taught by Stephen Aiguier, a local green building guru who founded Green Hammer Design Build. What started as a daring idea to do something different quickly became a passion project.

The result is a passive home with curb appeal and fabulous-minimalist interior. It has lots of insulation and thoughtful orientation, efficient mechanical fixtures throughout, and was designed to produce more power than it consumes. Several important design decisions and a few small lifestyle sacrifices were made to ensure that his home would be somewhat of a blueprint for modern, ecologically responsible living that we all hope will become the new standard.

We closely monitored the project, even visiting the jobsite to help install the exterior finishing touches of our unoiled Gendai®. Take a look at the links below for more details on this amazing project, press, and photos of the stunning interior!

Project Links:

• Project Page – Nakamoto Forestry
• ‘Zero energy,’ countless benefits – Lake Oswego Review
• Eco-friendly Lake Oswego house was designed to cut energy bills to zero – The Oregonian
• A Tour Inside Eric Antonini’s Zero Energy Home – Green Hammer