Design
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How Homeowners Decide to Use Shou Sugi Ban Siding
Shou sugi ban, the increasingly popular Japanese technique for treating siding, was used on the Flexhouse in Portland, Oregon. This video features the home’s owner Ajna Lichau and Ray Anthony Barrett talking about their decision to use and their process for implementing this technique. The house was designed by Michele Jeresek (Architect, Departure Design) and built by JRA Greenbuilding.
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Baptism by Fire: Turning “Old” into Dramatic
As she herself says, “This girl is on fire!” Tana MacDonald is a creative gal, running a multi-faceted business of interior design, space planning, specialty/faux painting and more in Toronto’s western suburbs. So it was that, casting about for something new to tackle, she found herself one day with an old cabinet and a new blowtorch — and was drawn like a moth to a flame. “I’m no pyro, but it’s mesmerizing,” MacDonald says of the charring technique she calls “risky Zen.” It’s a little scary, she says, but a very slow, steady pace ensures safety and satisfaction. The Japanese have been charring wood — called shou sugi ban (burning…
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Wowed by Shou Sugi Ban in the W Boston’s Redesign
If there is any beauty in destruction then it is found in shou sugi ban. This traditional Japanese method of weathering and preserving wood by charring became trendy in America over the past couple of years, and falls in line with a desire for aged decorative elements. But shou sugi ban’s rumpled black tarry finish has an element of chaos — something violent happened to this wood — and a mysterious Gothic quality. A good example of shou sugi ban is seen in the newly finished charred wood walling in the lobby lounge of the W Boston. Paired with granite columns, it is raw and earthy, yet suavely playful. The…
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Shou Sugi Ban Tiny House is Giant by Nature
Alpine Tiny Homes, the firm behind the Brown Bear tiny house, recently completed a large new model that looks finished to just as high a standard. Aptly named the Tiny Giant, the tow-able dwelling stands out from the crowd thanks to its size and unusual shou sugi ban charred wood siding. It can operate off-the-grid and boasts a relatively large bedroom. The Tiny Giant is based on a triple-axle trailer and measures a total length of 39 ft (11 m). It has a total floor space of 390 sq ft (36 sq m), which is not very far off the largest tiny house we’ve ever seen, the Red Mountain. It’s partly clad in Japanese-style…
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French Tiny House with Japanese Flair
Due to the country’s towing laws, French tiny houses give firms less room to work with than their US counterparts. With this in mind, Baluchon had a real challenge to make the 6.5 m (21 ft) long and 4 m (13 ft) high Calypso suitable for use as a full-time home for a family of three. The recently-completed Calypso is clad in red cedar, with one section charred in the Japanese Shou Sugi Ban method that’s often used to preserve wood, but appears to be decorative in this case. Inside, the tiny house should have plenty of natural light thanks to generous glazing and the finish looks to a high…
