Hand-charred wooden planks contrast whitewashed cedar in the facade of this residence in Washington state, designed by Portland practice Open Studio Collective.
The builder made the dark facade boards by hand using Shou Sugi Ban, a traditional Japanese technique of charring wood to increase its resistance to moisture and insects. The rest of the building is covered in pale, whitewashed cedar planks.

The studio designed the three-level Terrace Residence for a sloped site in Camas, Washington. It is located in a residential area that overlooks the Columbia River, which separates the states of Washington and Oregon.
The wooden exterior was chosen to contrast the look of the more traditional surrounding homes.

"The use of clean lines and Shou Sugi Ban wood siding creates a very contemporary moment in a dead-end drive of a very traditional subdivision," said Open Studio Collective.
Visitors enter through the upper level. Inside, the home has a flipped layout, with the upstairs occupied by the kitchen, living and dining rooms, as well as a guest bedroom with its own en-suite bathroom.

A continuous staircase runs the entire width of the house to lead the backdoor downstairs and the surrounding forest."From the front door, you can look down the spine through both levels of the house and see the woods," studio founder Allison Bryan told Dezeen.
The firm said the staircase helps to organise the programme into two distinct halves. It describes it as a "cen...