100 Stories1995 Scrum Haus™ An Astro Boy Made of Wood!

Osamu Tezuka's well-known masterpiece Astro Boy is a story set in the future world of the 21st century, where Atom, a boy robot with human emotions who runs on nuclear energy, is goes on adventures in future. Astro Boy has become not only a manga, but also an anime and live action CGI program, and, to the surprise of some, he was once made into a tree.

The inspiration for this was Asahi Kasei's wooden house, the Scrum Haus™. The Asahi Kasei Scrum Haus, established in April 1995, commercialized wooden shaft structure houses.

At the time, the wooden housing sector accounted for 80% of the total owner-occupied housing market in Japan. Traditional conventional construction methods were the mainstay, but prefabricated manufacturers were gradually breaking into the industry.

Due to the size of the market, Asahi Kasei sought to expand its business with a unique theme. That theme was “Taking on challenges with Science.”

The main feature of the Scrum Haus™ is that it incorporates industrialized materials and industrialized construction methods, allowing for full-scale structural calculations just like concrete and reinforced concrete houses. The new construction method is called the “Scrum Method,” and it has improved structural strength, including earthquake resistance, and construction accuracy.

The Scrum Haus™, which uses the new technology, will feature Astro Boy as its commercial image character. Astro Boy, who has become a national icon, was a perfect fit for the Scrum Haus™ theme of “Taking on challenges with Science.”

What drew even more attention was the staging of the commercial, in which Astro Boy is made of wood. The wooden Astro Boy was made of laminated wood, which is also used in the Scrum Haus™.

Laminated wood is a processed wood product made by joining multiple boards together. Laminated wood, especially for construction, is subject to strict inspection standards and specifications, and its quality is thoroughly controlled, making it strong and stable. In addition to being water-resistant, laminated wood is less likely to warp due to moisture, making it easier to use and reducing differences in workmanship depending on the skill of the carpenter.

The commercial begins with a scene in which Astro Boy is remodeled using such laminated wood. The completed Astro Boy, with sparks flying, has a softer impression than the original version, with a hint of warmth from the wood. The scene in which warm sunlight shines on Astro Boy as he visits the Scrum Haus™ with the copy, “Wooden houses nurtured by science,” gives the impression of a wooden house for the new era.

The Scrum Haus™ was also a house with many advantages. In addition to its superior structural strength, the Scrum Haus™ offered a high degree of freedom in space design, and it also established a system for mass production and volume sales. The collaboration with Astro Boy also helped the Scrum Haus™ make rapid progress, especially in the Kanto region.

In August 1997, the company launched a series of new products, including the Scrum Haus™ Quorto, which used design panels for exterior walls, and in October 1998, Scrum Haus™ Palette, which used Hebel Power Board for exterior walls, maintaining the challenging stance typical of Asahi Kasei.

However, in December 2000, the company stopped accepting new orders for the Scrum Haus™. Some within the company had asked Asahi Kasei to consider the in-pouring of orders more thoroughly because of the high level of technology and other factors, but there were so many competitors in the wooden housing market that the company became embroiled in fierce price competition.

Although the company’s withdrawal from the market was a disappointment even within the company, a look at auctions where manga fans gather shows that Scrum Haus™ banners are still being sold as a hot commodity. The unique idea of a wooden Astro Boy still lives on in unexpected places.