From commercial to residential, from data centers to ordinary households, when a raised access floor panel begins to consider its new role in residential applications, a technical dialogue spanning China and Japan quietly unfolds. In early 2026, Changzhou Huiya Decoration Materials Co., Ltd. carried out multiple rounds of in-depth exchanges and field studies, both at its domestic factory and on-site in Japan, centered on the “Nijuyuka” (double-floor) raised flooring system that has been widely adopted in Japan’s residential sector. Drawing on nearly 40 years of residential construction industry experience from veteran Japanese expert Mr. Kuwabara Shin, Huiya is carefully reassessing its long-accumulated technical capabilities in raised access flooring and exploring viable paths to extend them into the residential housing market. This is not a simple product line expansion, but rather a pragmatic effort by Huiya to proactively pursue transformation and upgrading in response to market changes. In the following sections, we begin from the starting point of this collaboration.

I. From Raised Access Floors to Double-Floor Systems: A Meeting of Minds

On January 22, 2026, Changzhou Huiya Decoration Materials Co., Ltd. welcomed a distinguished visitor: Mr. Kuwabara Shin, Chairman and General Manager of Shanghai Yachunzhen Architectural Design Consulting Co., Ltd. Introduced by Mr. Chu, Mr. Kuwabara made a special trip to the Huiya factory to engage in in-depth discussions with the Huiya team on the theme of “extending the raised access floor system into residential double-floor products.”

This was not merely a technical seminar at the product level, but also a strategic exchange about the future direction of Huiya’s product line – namely, how to effectively extend the manufacturing experience and technical expertise accumulated over many years in the commercial raised floor sector into the “Nijuyuka” (double-floor) system used in residential housing.

II. Mr. Kuwabara Shin – A Veteran Expert with Nearly 40 Years in Japan’s Residential Construction Industry

Mr. Kuwabara Shin was born in Ota Ward, Tokyo, Japan, and graduated from Waseda University. He worked at MISAWA HOMES Co., Ltd., a renowned Japanese residential developer, for approximately 40 years, holding a series of important positions in areas such as the overseas business division, overseas real estate operations, and the planning and development of apartment projects in Seattle (USA) and Vancouver (Canada). He has also been responsible for the planning and development of interior building material products for residential housing.

Mr. Kuwabara possesses extensive cross-border practical experience in the architectural and design fields between China and Japan. He participated in collaborative projects involving Japan’s popular 2016 home renovation program “Before After” (also known as “Almighty Renovation King”) and a popular Chinese residential renovation TV program. Beginning in 2018, Mr. Kuwabara established a business consulting firm in Shanghai, and in 2024 founded Shanghai Yachunzhen Architectural Design Consulting Co., Ltd., dedicated to connecting Sino-Japanese resources and cooperation in architectural design, training tour planning, and business consulting.

The philosophy advocated by Mr. Kuwabara is “Building the future through TSUNAGU (connection)” — connecting people with people, creating the future, and cherishing every encounter. His company’s business covers three main pillars:

• J-style Design Creation: Working with teams of Japanese architects, designers, craftsmen, and artists to provide architectural design, interior design, industrial design, and Japanese garden design services.
• Japan Study Tour Planning: Offering themed Japan study tours covering architecture, interior design, product design, beauty, healthcare, and cultural experiences.
• Business Consulting: Assisting Japanese companies entering the Chinese market and Chinese companies entering the Japanese market, providing comprehensive services such as building material import/export, business planning, and investment promotion.

Mr. Kuwabara has a deep understanding of Japan’s residential construction system, particularly in the areas of residential building materials and interior structures, providing a solid technical and industry perspective for this collaboration with Huiya.

III. What Is “Nijuyuka” (Double Floor)?

“Nijuyuka” (Japanese: 二重床/にじゅうゆか, literally “double floor”) is a floor structure system widely adopted in Japanese residential construction. In simple terms, it involves installing dedicated support pedestals (束/parts) and panels between the structural concrete slab and the finished interior floor, creating a raised void of a certain height, forming a “double-layer floor” structure.

Key features of the Nijuyuka system include:

• Improved sound insulation: The raised void creates a buffer space that effectively reduces impact noise and noise transmission between floors, improving residential comfort.
• Flexible pipe and cable routing: Water supply and drainage pipes, electrical wiring, and underfloor heating pipes can be freely arranged within the raised void, facilitating future maintenance and renovation while reducing damage to the structural slab.
• Floor leveling: By adjusting the height of the support pedestals, a flat finished floor can be achieved on uneven concrete substrates, with relatively high construction efficiency.
• Thermal insulation: The air layer within the raised void provides a degree of thermal insulation, helping to improve the indoor thermal environment.
• Compatibility with multiple finishes: The Nijuyuka system can accommodate various flooring finishes such as wood flooring and tiles, making it suitable for a wide range of applications.

In Japan, the Nijuyuka system has been mature and widely applied in apartment buildings (mansion / マンション) and is considered one of the key structural indicators of residential quality. In recent years, with the rising trend of residential quality improvement in China and increasing consumer demand for living comfort, the concept of the Nijuyuka system has gradually attracted attention within China’s construction industry.

IV. How Huiya Is Extending from Commercial Raised Floors to Residential Double-Floor Systems

Changzhou Huiya Decoration Materials Co., Ltd. has cultivated the raised access floor industry for many years, accumulating extensive experience in the R&D, production, and application of commercial raised floor products. The company’s products are widely used in data centers, office buildings, equipment rooms, and other commercial settings, and a relatively mature technical system has been established in panel processing, support system design, and installation processes.

However, the Huiya team is also clearly aware that, with changes in the market environment and the trend toward upgrading residential building quality, extending its existing technical capabilities into the residential housing sector is a direction worth in-depth study. The Nijuyuka system shares fundamental principles with commercial raised access floors – both create raised voids between the substrate and finished surface through support structures – but residential double floors have different technical priorities and market demands in terms of specific product specifications, load-bearing requirements, sound insulation standards, installation precision, and cost control.

Inviting Mr. Kuwabara to the factory for this exchange marked an important step in Huiya’s transformation strategy. The two parties held thorough discussions on the following topics:

• The product structure and technical standards of the Japanese Nijuyuka system;
• Similarities and differences between commercial raised floors and residential double floors in terms of material selection and structural design;
• Analysis of potential demand and application scenarios for double-floor products in China’s residential market;
• Key factors to consider during product R&D, including sound insulation performance, environmental indicators, and installation convenience.

The atmosphere of the meeting was pragmatic and substantive. Both parties agreed that Huiya’s manufacturing foundation in the raised access floor sector provides favorable conditions for extending into the Nijuyuka system, but at the same time, more detailed work is needed in product adaptability, standards alignment, and market education.

V. Visit to Japan – On-Site Understanding of Japanese Double-Floor Products and Industry Ecosystem

To gain a more comprehensive and direct understanding of the practical applications and industry development of Japanese Nijuyuka products, the Huiya team traveled to Japan from March 1 to March 7, 2026, for a week-long corporate exchange and study tour.

During the visit, the Huiya team met with Mr. Kuwabara in Tokyo, where the two sides once again held face-to-face in-depth discussions. After work, Mr. Kuwabara warmly invited the Huiya team to a Chinese restaurant for dinner, where they enjoyed authentic Dalian-style cuisine. Tasting the flavors of home in a foreign land added warmth and familiarity to this cross-border exchange and further strengthened the cooperative bond between the two sides.

During the trip, the Huiya team visited relevant Japanese companies and conducted on-site inspections of the production processes, installation procedures, and real-world application effects of Nijuyuka products in different types of residences, gaining a more direct and in-depth understanding of Japan’s mature residential raised flooring system.

VI. Visit to the Fujita Medical Innovation Center Tokyo

Before returning to China, Mr. Kuwabara also specially arranged for the Huiya team to visit the Fujita Medical Innovation Center Tokyo (FMIC Tokyo) of Fujita Health University.

Mr. Kuwabara and Huiya’s General Manager Gu shared the view that, regardless of how the business develops, physical health is always the fundamental safeguard for both individuals and their families. This visit gave the Huiya team an opportunity to closely understand the operational models and service philosophies of Japanese healthcare and health management institutions. During the visit, team members observed considerable differences between this center and domestic medical institutions and health screening centers in terms of medical examination process design, health management service details, and doctor-patient communication. These observations and experiences broadened the team’s perspective and provided valuable inspiration.

This series of activities — from factory exchanges to the visit in Japan — marks a solid step forward in Huiya’s exploration of extending raised access floor products into the residential Nijuyuka system. Through deep cooperation with Mr. Kuwabara and his team, Huiya has gained a clearer understanding of the technical system, market potential, and development pathway of double-floor products.

Huiya will continue to maintain a pragmatic and enterprising attitude, fully leveraging its manufacturing experience and technical strengths in the raised access floor field, and steadily advancing the R&D and market exploration of double-floor products. At the same time, the company will continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with professionals in Japan’s architectural design and building materials sectors, drawing on the experience of mature markets and combining it with the actual needs of the domestic market to provide customers with more diversified and practical products and solutions.

We look forward to walking alongside more partners to jointly explore new possibilities for building flooring systems.