A serene outdoor shower space is surrounded by shou sugi ban wood.

With its shou sugi ban exterior, high-pitched roof and monochrome palette, this family home nods to Japanese design.

The mid-section of the siding was done in a shou-sugi ban method. Custom brass was used for the awning, alongside a standing-seam metal roof.

The overall home is constructed with larch timber, a British wood, and features a central ridge beam that gives it a butterfly-shaped roof. Shou sugi ban was done on the wood to give it a charred finish.

This Southern Californian home by architect Sebastian Mariscal has a wabi-sabi spirit, and is built with shou sugi ban timber, has a koi pond, wand a protective overhang, and a tertiary space known in in traditional Japanese homes as the

The utility sink and moveable countertop were purchased second-hand. Throughout the interiors, the framing was left exposed. Fire-resistant mineral wool insulation was applied to the exterior, then clad with Alaskan Yellow Cedar boards finished in a shou sugi ban treatment.

In Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood, architect Tiffany Bowie built an efficient house for her father, Dave, a retired engineer. A prototype system by Kirio monitors the home’s energy use. Shou sugi ban cladding in a herringbone pattern provides a striking backdrop.

Hunter developed a black stain that mimics the look of shou sugi ban’s fire-charred finish. "We didn't use shou sugi ban because it can wash away in our [very rainy] climate," Hunter says.

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Shou Sugi Ban Addition

The shou sugi ban exterior is durable, but will lighten over time.

Each Hytte will be clad in shou sugi ban-treated larch to recede the buildings into the landscape.

The shou-sugi ban louvers were designed and made by Schiller.

Evoking shou sugi ban, the cedar exterior has a Benjamin Moore Arborcoat stain.

The shou sugi ban exterior siding stands as a bold contrast in the snow, and is

The exterior is clad in a mixture of stained cedar and shou sugi ban siding.

In addition to the limestone and Shou-sugi-ban, the exterior walls are made of natural stucco.

The exterior is clad in pre-finished inland cedar and shou sugi ban-charred wood.

Avon House featuring yakisugi (shou sugi ban) japanese charred wood siding

Nakamoto charred wood Shou Sugi Ban siding

Shou-sugi-ban sections of the facade wraps in to the interior to become accent walls.

The architect and owners were in sync on every aspect of the design, including the desire for shou sugi ban siding. “I had been interested in shou sugi ban for a long time,” Herrmann says. “These Japanese cypress boards have been charred, wire-brushed, stained, and oiled. We did a lot of testing to come up with the right dark grey color; it changes in the light.”

The Chilmark House exterior is clad in shou sugi ban siding and roofed with zinc.

Avon House featuring yakisugi (shou sugi ban) japanese charred wood siding

Avon House featuring yakisugi (shou sugi ban) japanese charred wood siding

The ceiling of the lower level is shou sugi ban cedar siding to match the exteriors.

The backyard evokes the serenity of a Japanese Zen garden with a beautiful leaning tree and a shou sugi ban shed.

Side Yard View | Shou Sugi Ban Addition

Avon House featuring yakisugi (shou sugi ban) japanese charred wood siding

Aaron Schiller provided the shou sugi ban louvers that enclose the dining space and create privacy from the entry path.

Inspired by a homesteading commune he documented in Western North Carolina, photographer Mike Belleme built the Nook, a minimalist retreat in the woods that draws from both Japanese and Scandinavian design. He foraged much of the wood for the 400-square-foot cabin. "Every kind of wood has a certain mood and personality," he says. The exterior features an entranceway of oak blackened in the traditional Japanese method known as shou sugi ban.

The New York Times architecture critic, Michael Kimmelman, interviewed 2014 Pritzker Prize winner Shigeru Ban for the 2014 New York Times Cities for Tomorrow conference. Via The New York Times

Sliding cedar screens treated with the traditional Japanese shou sugi ban method are layered with the Cor-Ten steel siding of the exterior.

An Egg Collective dining table and vintage chairs sit under lighting by Lindsey Adelman. The walls echo the shou sugi ban siding of the exterior.

The exterior Red Ironbark cladding was charred—using the Shou Sugi Ban technique—to increase the longevity of the timber and as a nod to the significance of fire.

GreenSpur and McAllister Architects imagined a cabin sided with Cor-Ten steel, glass, and shou sugi ban–treated cedar for a wooded property outside of Washington, DC.