reSAWN TIMBER co. recently returned to their Toronto, CN project, Cos, to get a more complete understanding of how their MONOGATARI shou sugi ban exterior siding weathers in a real-world application. The upscale European retailer, under the H&M brand, selected G Architects and Office AO Architecture to collaborate on the company's flagship Canadian location...
With some UV protection from surrounding buildings, the CHARRED black facade has remained largely unchanged apart from the expected slight discoloration. Structurally, the facade has maintained performance and dimensional stability despite the variance in Toronto seasons.
The project facade was made up of architecturally designed windows and 7/8" thick x 5" wide MONOGATARI with a 1/8" reveal. By including the reveal, the visual is much more textured with a 1/8" gap every 5". If anything, the slight fading of the CHARRED wood has led to even more visual complexity because of a color variation in addition to a texture variation
reSAWN's exterior products are meant to age in place and will weather naturally over time. Prior to specifying the material, it is crucial to understand how shou sugi ban weathers, and have reasonable expectations of how the material will change.
To maintain the original aesthetic of brushed designs (such as MONOGATARI, HADAKA, AKA etc.), a top coat will need to be re-applied. These designs have been brushed to remove some of the charring, revealing the cypress wood grain and then sealed. The exposed cypress wood grain will fade naturally to grey. This is not a defect, but a natural process of wood. Any wood siding product will grey and will require some form of maintenance including such materials as ipe, teak and soft woods such as cedar, cypress, hemlock.