Blog

If you are building the home you have been imagining for years, you will already know that there are some decisions you make once and never think about again — and others you live with every single day. The materials are the second kind. They are the first thing you...

(and Getting It Right First Time) A specification only becomes a building once someone picks up the tools and produces it. You're the one who has to make the architect's drawing weathertight, square and still looking fantastic in five years — and you're the one who...

This September, Pentarch New Zealand invite a small group of New Zealand architects and designers to Japan for ten days inside the buildings, workshops and forests where timber is treated less as a material and more as a discipline. The journey moves from Tokyo to...

Some homes make an impression through scale. Others through detail. The Greenhills’ Papamoa home does both — quietly, confidently, and with a sense of restraint that feels deeply considered. Built in 2021, this striking residence was one of the earlier homes in the...

At Pentarch, we believe exceptional timber begins long before it reaches New Zealand. It starts in the forest, in the sawmill, and most importantly, in the relationships behind it. There is growing talk in the market around “direct sourcing” from Japan. For us, that...

Choosing timber for an architectural project is rarely just about appearance. It is about trust in the supply chain, confidence in the product, and certainty that the people behind it understand both the material and the outcome you are trying to achieve. That is...

Margerita deKwant of Pentarch Forest Products explains the magic of yakisugi. What is this construction material?This is yakisugi – charred Japanese cedar. Architects and builders have used sugi, Japanese cedar, in homes here, yet until now the timber has stayed under...

A centuries-old Japanese timber tradition brings sustainable beauty to Tauranga’s newest design showroom. WORDS JO FERRIS / PHOTOS SALINA GALVAN + SUPPLIED Centuries’ old Japanese philosophy and unique timber is catching eyes with the opening of a brand-new showroom...

At Pentarch, we’re a bit obsessed with how timber is treated. The way it’s charred, cooled, brushed and oiled is the difference between “nice cladding” and architecture that genuinely stops people in their tracks. That’s why we partner with Chartek. Chartek is a...

At Pentarch Forest Products, we believe beautiful timber deserves an equally thoughtful finish. That’s why we’re proud to shine a light on Duncan and the team at Natural House Company – quiet pioneers who have been putting “timber with a conscience” into practice for...

Pentarch Forestry has officially opened New Zealand’s first dedicated Sugi showroom in downtown Tauranga – a bold step in bringing Japanese timber innovation directly to local architects, designers and builders. Located in the heart of the CBD, the new Sugi Showroom...

Short answer: yes... Why sugi is the gold standard for charring Short answer: yes—sugi (Japanese cedar, Cryptomeria japonica) is the benchmark for traditional yakisugi. It isn’t the only option, but it consistently delivers the most stable, beautiful, and usable char...

Yakisugi is the classic deep-char, unbrushed form of sugi (Yaki simply translates as charred or burnt)— Its jet-black tone and ‘Dragon Skin’ surface read as both ancient and graphic, a quiet nod to wabi-sabi: beauty earned by time and use. Before you choose it for a...

Short answer: Yakisugi is a traditional Japanese finish created using the Shou Sugi Ban technique which chars the surface of sugi to create a durable, low-gloss, textured finish. Correctly specified and detailed, it delivers a stable, weather-resistant cladding with...