Shou Sugi Ban is a special charring technique, inspired by age-old Japanese traditions. The Shou Sugi Ban (‘charred cypress’) technique entails charring pine wood on one side by binding three planks together in a chimney shape and lighting a fire inside the base. This is how the walls on traditional Japanese wooden houses were given their flame-retardant carbon layer.
Shou Sugi Ban, also known as Yakisugi, is still being applied in Japan. It is also used for modern buildings, designed by well-known architects such as Terunobu Fujimori.
The primal force of fire remains visible in the colour and texture of the wood, even after the charring process. As a result all Shou Sugi Ban treated wood species have their own structure and applications, both from an aesthetics and physical structure perspective.
Our founder brought the beauty of this eye-catching black charred wood to Europe. He became acquainted with the traditional Shou Sugi Ban technique and combined it with modern techniques. In our workshop in Leersum, our charring masters char the wood in a controlled manner – piece by piece – in an oven we have developed ourselves.
Would you like to find out more about Zwarthout | Shou Sugi Ban? Read our brochure.
We have put together two Zwarthout | Shou Sugi Ban sample boxes: one for interior design applications and one for façade cladding.
That way, you can experience the attention, care and love we pour into each piece of wood yourself. And, of course, the beauty and exclusive looks the various textures have to offer.
