This blackened-timber house by Japanese studio Yoshio Ohno Architects is sat on top of a sloping concrete retaining wall (+ slideshow). More about Yoshio Ohno's black timber house straddles a concrete escarpment in Hiroshima
Swedish architect Max Holst used a traditional Swedish paint to give an all-black appearance to the exterior of this woodland house outside Stockholm (+ slideshow). More about Woodland villa in Sweden designed by Max Holst with a blackened exterior
Pale wooden window frames contrast with the black-stained cedar facades of this extension to a detached house in Nantes by French studio Bertin Bichet Architectes (+ slideshow). More about Nantes house extension contrasts blackened wood facades with pale window frames
Charred Japanese cedar clads the exterior of this split-level house in Izumo, Japan, by Kanazawa studio Harunatsu-Arch (+ slideshow). More about Blackened timber house by Harunatsu-Arch is divided by a stepped floor
Naruse House by MDS has been clad using the traditional Japanese technique of Yakisugi, which involves charring cedar wood to create a blackened, weather-resistant surface that resists decay (+ slideshow). More about MDS designs blackened timber house on a sloping junction in Tokyo
This charred timber cabin by Chilean studio DRAA is raised over a hillside on stilts to afford better views of the nearby mountains (+ slideshow). More about Charred Cabin by DRAA is a blackened timber shelter on stilts
Behind the dark facades of these farmhouse-inspired cabins in northern Italy, designed by local studio Pedevilla Architects, is a pair of bright homes that combine traditional elements with modern detailing (+ slideshow). More about Alpine cabins by Pedevilla Architekten build on traditions of Tyrolean farmhouses
This blackened timber holiday home in northern France by Nantes studio Raum contains two mobile bedrooms that can be wheeled onto a terrace to provide outdoor sleeping cabins (+ slideshow). More about French holiday home by Raum features bedrooms on wheels
Charred timber clads this woodland hideaway that Czech studio Uhlik Architekti has built on top of a large boulder within a forest clearing in central Bohemia (+ slideshow). More about Forest Retreat by Uhlik Architekti rests on a boulder in a Bohemian wood
German studio Format Elf Architekten has designed three holiday cottages for a resort in the Bavarian countryside that resemble archetypal pitched-roof barns (+ slideshow). More about Format Elf Architekten adds blackened timber cottages to a rural German resort
This black wooden house in Austria by Hammerschmid Pachl Seebacher Architekten is raised off the ground on wonky metal stilts to frame views of the landscape and allow room underneath for a sheltered garden (+ slideshow). More about Black-painted S House by Hammerschmid Pachl Seebacher raised up on stilts
Black-painted timber contrasts with clean white window frames on the walls of this cube-shaped weekend home in Normandy, France, by Paris studio Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes (+ slideshow). More about House in Normandy with blackened timber walls by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes
Paris studio Marchi Architectes layered up timber slats of different thicknesses and proportions to give an irregular texture to the walls of this sunken house extension in Normandy, France (+ slideshow). More about Blackened timber house extension hidden in the forest by Marchi Architectes
This riverside holiday house in South Limburg, the Netherlands, is raised on tree trunks to prevent flooding and clad with charred wood to reduce the need for maintenance (+ slideshow). More about Sustainable house on the Geul by Upfrnt and Zwarthout
The arced profile of this charred wooden house by architects Horibe Associates is designed to resonate with the traditional temples and shrines of Yoshinogawa, Japan (+ slideshow). More about House in Kamoshima by Horibe Associates
Blackened wood buildings teeter on the edge of a precipice at this housing development in Sweden by Scandinavian firm Arkitema Architects. More about Prästgården by Arkitema Architects
A museum housing sixteenth century Tudor warship the Mary Rose opens today in an elliptical timber-clad building designed by London office Wilkinson Eyre Architects (+ slideshow). More about Mary Rose Museum by Wilkinson Eyre and Pringle Brandon Perkins+Will
London studio Jonathan Tuckey Design has converted a historic chapel in Wiltshire, England, into a house with a blackened-timber extension conceived as the building's shadow. More about Shadow House by Jonathan Tuckey Design
Black-painted pine clads the walls of this small gabled house by Swedish studio Erik Andersson Architects on an island in the Stockholm archipelago (+ slideshow). More about Villa Wallin by Erik Andersson Architects
Australian architect Andrew Burns has installed a charred timber pavilion with deceptively curved walls in the garden of the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation in Paddington, Sydney (+ slideshow). More about Crescent House by Andrew Burns