[Toei Housing] Utility Poles Become Piles Protecting Homes Underground. "R-Evolve Pile" Wins Excellence Award at Japan Resilience Awards
Toei Housing's "R-Evolve Pile", an innovative method reusing discarded utility poles as ground improvement piles, has won the Excellence Award at the Japan Resilience Awards for its disaster resistance and eco-friendliness.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 25, 2026 at 01:39
- 🔍 Collected: April 24, 2026 at 17:02
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 21:41 (4h 38m after Collected)
The Japan Resilience Award is a system that evaluates and commends advanced companies and organizations engaged in activities, technological development, and product development that contribute to building a strong nation, regions, people, and industries toward building a resilient society for the next generation. Established in November 2014, the 2026 event marks its 12th iteration.
This initiative began joint development with Toden Logistics in the latter half of 2023, and commercialization proceeded under the supervision of Dr. Osamu Kusakabe, Professor Emeritus at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. In March 2024, the world's first actual building construction using utility pole piles was carried out on two subdivided buildings in Higashimurayama City.
◆ Award-Winning Project Overview
Residential ground improvement pile reusing removed utility poles: "R-Evolve Pile"
■ Utility poles that supported energy will now support the safety and health of daily life
This method is a residential ground improvement technique that reuses approximately 60,000 removed utility poles generated annually due to the progress of removing above-ground utility poles. They are reused as ground improvement piles within a 25km radius of where they are generated. It possesses compressive strength surpassing conventional piles and bending strength to resist ground deformation, contributing to the suppression of ground collapse during earthquakes and the realization of disaster-resilient homes.
Furthermore, through a micro-circulation model that recycles resources generated in the city back into the city, it achieves both improved aesthetics and enhanced disaster prevention capabilities simultaneously.
■ Sustainable ground improvement realized with domestic resources
In recent years, soaring overseas material prices and exchange/geopolitical risks have affected various industries. On the other hand, there are approximately 6 million utility poles within the TEPCO jurisdiction alone. Even at a renewal pace of about 60,000 poles per year, it is a purely domestic resource capable of stable supply on a scale that would take about 100 years to replace completely.
Moreover, since the generation site and the utilization site match, and the processing steps are simple, it also leads to the reduction of energy consumption associated with reuse.
Housing demand is expected to be about 800,000 units in 2030 and about 600,000 units in 2040, even under the progression of declining birth rates and an aging population, and the ground improvement rate has remained at an average of about 30%. Therefore, this method can maintain a sustainable supply-demand balance in the future.
■ Harmless ground improvement technology protecting groundwater
Because ground improvement involves introducing materials into the soil, consideration for safety is essential. In past large-scale disasters, there are cases where well water became a vital water source supporting people's lives.
Against this background, the conservation of the water environment is an issue that society as a whole must face, even in regions that do not rely on groundwater for their water supply.
In conventional columnar improvement, there are concerns about the risk of hexavalent chromium leaching during the hardening process, making future pile removal impossible. In addition, surface improvement hardens the entire construction surface, raising similar concerns to columnar improvement, while also depriving the ground of its water permeability.
In contrast, since this method does not involve the leaching of harmful substances into the soil, it is a sustainable ground improvement technology that contributes to the conservation of the local water environment and people's health. We will continue to expand its social implementation.
[Toei Housing Corporate Site]
URL: https://www.touei.co.jp/
[Toei Housing News Release List]
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/searchrlp/company_id/71450
■ Company Overview
Company Name: TOEI HOUSING CORPORATION
President and CEO: Chihiro Sato
Business Activities: Detached housing subdivision business, condominium subdivision business, construction contracting business, real estate leasing business
Established: March 10, 1951
Head Office: 4-26-3 Shibakubocho, Nishitokyo-shi, Tokyo
This initiative began joint development with Toden Logistics in the latter half of 2023, and commercialization proceeded under the supervision of Dr. Osamu Kusakabe, Professor Emeritus at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. In March 2024, the world's first actual building construction using utility pole piles was carried out on two subdivided buildings in Higashimurayama City.
◆ Award-Winning Project Overview
Residential ground improvement pile reusing removed utility poles: "R-Evolve Pile"
■ Utility poles that supported energy will now support the safety and health of daily life
This method is a residential ground improvement technique that reuses approximately 60,000 removed utility poles generated annually due to the progress of removing above-ground utility poles. They are reused as ground improvement piles within a 25km radius of where they are generated. It possesses compressive strength surpassing conventional piles and bending strength to resist ground deformation, contributing to the suppression of ground collapse during earthquakes and the realization of disaster-resilient homes.
Furthermore, through a micro-circulation model that recycles resources generated in the city back into the city, it achieves both improved aesthetics and enhanced disaster prevention capabilities simultaneously.
■ Sustainable ground improvement realized with domestic resources
In recent years, soaring overseas material prices and exchange/geopolitical risks have affected various industries. On the other hand, there are approximately 6 million utility poles within the TEPCO jurisdiction alone. Even at a renewal pace of about 60,000 poles per year, it is a purely domestic resource capable of stable supply on a scale that would take about 100 years to replace completely.
Moreover, since the generation site and the utilization site match, and the processing steps are simple, it also leads to the reduction of energy consumption associated with reuse.
Housing demand is expected to be about 800,000 units in 2030 and about 600,000 units in 2040, even under the progression of declining birth rates and an aging population, and the ground improvement rate has remained at an average of about 30%. Therefore, this method can maintain a sustainable supply-demand balance in the future.
■ Harmless ground improvement technology protecting groundwater
Because ground improvement involves introducing materials into the soil, consideration for safety is essential. In past large-scale disasters, there are cases where well water became a vital water source supporting people's lives.
Against this background, the conservation of the water environment is an issue that society as a whole must face, even in regions that do not rely on groundwater for their water supply.
In conventional columnar improvement, there are concerns about the risk of hexavalent chromium leaching during the hardening process, making future pile removal impossible. In addition, surface improvement hardens the entire construction surface, raising similar concerns to columnar improvement, while also depriving the ground of its water permeability.
In contrast, since this method does not involve the leaching of harmful substances into the soil, it is a sustainable ground improvement technology that contributes to the conservation of the local water environment and people's health. We will continue to expand its social implementation.
[Toei Housing Corporate Site]
URL: https://www.touei.co.jp/
[Toei Housing News Release List]
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/searchrlp/company_id/71450
■ Company Overview
Company Name: TOEI HOUSING CORPORATION
President and CEO: Chihiro Sato
Business Activities: Detached housing subdivision business, condominium subdivision business, construction contracting business, real estate leasing business
Established: March 10, 1951
Head Office: 4-26-3 Shibakubocho, Nishitokyo-shi, Tokyo