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Minimalist Muji Hut with Shou Sugi Ban
Japanese retailer Muji has entered the small living scene with a tiny new hut. Featuring an attractive minimalist design, the Muji Hut is about as basic as it gets, but could suit those looking for a simple cabin in the woods, a home office, or guest accommodation. The Muji Hut has a total floorspace of 97 sq ft inside, but there’s also a small porch area that adds another 32 sq ft of space. The exterior is Shou Sugi Ban treated cedar. Shou Sugi Ban, which is a centuries-old Japanese technique of charring wood to preserve it, used to be rather exotic in the small living movement but is now…
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Shou ‘Piney’ Ban: Finishing Southern Pine with Fire
Since 2004, Michael Moran, and now his partner Celia Gibson, can be found, chisel in hand, building each unique object one piece at a time, one hand-cut joint at a time, watching wood become a functional work of art. Moran says his vision is one in which materials, primarily wood, and its natural characteristics are central. Taking these characteristics into consideration, our intention is to place each individual board and its idiosyncrasies into a context where it is best expressed aesthetically, ideologically and functionally. “Since we’ve been working with charring pine, we make sure to not refer to it as Shou Sugi Ban (the name inherently implies the use of…
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Zen and the Art of Creating Shou Sugi Ban
Watch the master as he shows us the perfect method of how shou sugi ban should be done – by hand, under dappled sunlight and with a zen flute melody as accompaniment. Check out this meditative video tutorial – without any words to take away from the artistic spell he puts us under. Thanks to John Neeman Tools.
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Japanese Surrealist Architect Revels In Fairytale Visions
A one-legged Shou sugi ban teahouse suspended amid cherry trees in the Japanese mountains showcases the vivid imagination and designs of architect Terunobu Fujimori. Conceiving his first creation at the age of 42, Fujimori is considered one of the world’s first surrealists in his field. Working solely with natural materials such as earth, wood and stone, the modern eccentric has dedicated his career to pioneering contemporary design with buildings “that float in the air” and roofs covered with living leek plants. Curating the Japanese Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2006, Fujimori invited audiences to remove their shoes and enter the exhibition through a hole in a wooden wall to…
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Shou-Sugi-Ban Wood Siding
From Remodelista, a photo-overview of how to create Shou Sugi Ban siding. One family’s account of building a house in Southern California with Mexico City–born, San Diego–based architect Sebastian Mariscal.
