The Beauty of Imperfection  

Knotty Western Red Cedar is emerging as a sustainable, biophilic material for healthier and more authentic buildings

Sponsored by Western Red Cedar Lumber Association | By Barbara Horwitz-Bennett

Western Red Cedar has long been valued by architects, builders, and designers for its unique combination of beauty, durability, and versatility. Native to the Pacific Northwest, the species is naturally resistant to decay, moisture, and insect damage, making it well suited for both interior and exterior applications. Its dimensional stability, workability, and rich visual character have made it a staple in residential, commercial, and institutional architecture. Available in a range of grades and appearances, Western Red Cedar offers designers the flexibility to achieve a variety of aesthetic and performance goals while maintaining a strong connection to nature.

Advantages of Knotty Cedar

A popular specification, knotty Western Red Cedar is widely available and cost-effective, making it an attractive option for designers seeking the warmth and performance of real wood. Retaining the natural appearance of the tree, this grade aligns with growing interest in authentic, sustainable, and biophilic design. “As the market is flooded with more and more processed materials, the natural ones and the materials that display their true qualities as they are extracted or harvested seem more authentic,” states Nathan Hamilton, associate principal, Allied Works Architecture, Portland, Oregon.

Knots accentuate the wood’s natural character, adding warmth, texture, and individuality that cannot be replicated by perfectly uniform materials. “For me, knotty wood contains the life and vibrancy of the forest,” observes Patrick Warren, senior associate, Frits de Vries Architects + Associates, Vancouver, B.C. “It’s a durable, solid, and real material that evokes the forest, with all of its movement and imperfections.” He further describes knotty cedar as more casual and energetic than clear cedar, with a richness that reflects the complexity of the forest itself.

Brian Campbell, an architect with Scott Edwards Architecture in Portland, appreciates the durability and longevity of knotty Western Red Cedar, and the fact that it ages gracefully. Compared to many premium wood species and clear grades, knotty cedar remains both affordable and readily available, granting architects greater freedom to use it more extensively for exteriors and interiors. “This value proposition gives a lot of flexibility and freedom, allowing architects to try things that might otherwise be out of the range of possibility,” he explains.

Authenticity Through Natural Character

Debunking the misconception that knotty boards are somehow inferior to clear grades, Warren pushes back, stating that this fallacy represents a complete disconnection between a product and the forests and trees that it comes from. He believes this is rooted in a consumer culture that is disconnected from its sources. “The knots tell the story of how the tree grew, giving every board its own unique appearance. That natural variation creates warmth, depth, and authenticity that manufactured materials simply cannot replicate,” agrees Nick Mira, AIA, LEED AP, principal architect, Propel Studio Architecture, Portland, Oregon.

The knots reveal the growth history of the tree, giving each board a distinct appearance and reinforcing a sense of authenticity that manufactured materials cannot replicate. “When it comes to materiality, authenticity is critical. Highly processed materials, even ones derived from nature, fall short of helping us feel connected to the natural world,” agrees Hamilton.

Many designers believe the market is shifting away from simulated finishes and toward materials that honestly express their origins. “We are getting back to an appreciation of wood that feels alive with all its knurls and knots,” observes designer Brooklyn Decker, who is based in Austin, Texas. “Figured and character-rich wood and stone have roared back into interior design and architecture. We are seeing burlwoods, cathedrals, knots, bold patterns, and textures all reappearing in interiors after a long period of restraint and subtlety. Rediscovering knotty cedar is part of that energy and creativity,” says Warren. “Knotty cedar adds another layer of visual richness by introducing texture, grain variation, and warmth while making efficient use of the resource. It is a material that performs well technically while creating spaces people genuinely enjoy experiencing.”

Photo courtesy of Ema Peter

Displaying the knots, texture, and grain of real wood, knotty red cedar is used extensively at this cabin in Halfmoon Bay on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast.

Phoenix-based general contractor Mikko Pasanen is installing increasing percentages of natural materials on his projects. “Natural wood continues to be popular because it adds texture and character that manufactured materials often can’t replicate. There’s also growing appreciation for materials that feel timeless and work well in both modern and traditional designs. Knotty cedar fits that preference because it has a natural appearance that doesn’t feel overly polished,” he observes.

Another design trend that lines up well with knotty cedar is a desire to balance the pristine, new appearance of new construction with the quality and timeless appeal of organic materials.

“When we use wood as a finish, either inside or outside, we prefer a little character in the grain rather than more uniform patterns, and given this, we often end up with some knots,” relates Ian Butcher, founding partner, Best Practice Architecture, Seattle. For projects seeking a more restrained aesthetic, darker stains can reduce visual contrast around knots while preserving the wood’s texture and organic character.

WRC vs. Cedar Alternatives

Western Red Cedar is widely recognized as the benchmark for durability among cedar species. Thanks to its high concentration of naturally protective extractives, WRC offers exceptional resistance to decay, moisture, and weathering, outperforming many other cedar species, including Japanese Cedar (Sugi), Incense Cedar, and Aromatic Cedar. The durability rankings place Western Red Cedar as the most durable cedar species, while Japanese Cedar ranks among the least durable.

Image courtesy of Tile Council of North America

In addition to durability, Western Red Cedar is highly dimensionally stable, with lower shrinkage than species such as Sugi and Port Orford Cedar. This helps minimize movement, checking, and distortion over time, resulting in better long-term appearance and performance.

For architects and specifiers, the distinction is important. Specifying “cedar” alone can allow substitution with lower-performing species. A Knotty Cedar specification for Western Red Cedar helps ensure superior durability, reduced maintenance, and a longer service life than alternative cedar products.

Popular Applications

“With a great appearance and strong durability, knotty cedar is the best choice for projects using dimensional lumber, timbers, siding, soffit, and decking,” states Jay Poppe, cedar specialist, Western Red Cedar Lumber Association. “A popular design we are seeing is transitions from interior to exterior spaces, such as interior ceilings to soffits and patio covers where cedar is the obvious choice for material.”

In addition, architects are choosing knotty cedar for exposed beams, decks, and fencing. Interior applications increasingly include wall cladding, ceilings, flooring accents, and saunas, where cedar’s appearance and natural aroma contribute to the overall experience.

“Western Red Cedar is one of our go-to choices for exterior and interior cladding. It offers excellent durability and rot resistance while providing the rich tone that people often associate with warmth and comfort. We also love that the material has the ability to age naturally when left exposed to the elements. The silvering offers an honest patina that really can’t be achieved by synthetic finishes,” relates Cory Mattheis, AIA, a principal with the Seattle-based Miller Hull Partnership.

For example, his team chose a select tight knot for the interior walls and ceilings of their Trestle Cabin project on an island in the Salish Sea, about 70 miles north of Seattle. The architects intentionally decided not to finish the wood in order to promote its natural aging and patina over time.

“The rough sawn exterior siding was stained black to recede into the forest while the interior boards were milled smooth and left unfinished. This contrast was conceptually interesting to the design team as a way to explore how the treatment of a single material could create different experiences for the inhabitants,” he explains.

Photos courtesy of Juan Benavides

Miller Hull Partnership’s design for the Trestle Cabin near Seattle features rough-sawn exterior knotty cedar siding stained black and unfinished knotty cedar interiors. 

The cabin owners are now living in a space that not only feels great, but smells amazing as the unfinished wood radiates the essence and natural oils of the wood like a sauna.

In selecting different combinations of types, sizes, and stains, architects can creatively specify knotty cedar for a wide range of expressions and applications. The knots add visual interest and help large wall and ceiling surfaces feel more dynamic through subtle variation in grain, color, and texture. “When used on a large, continuous simple field, such as a ceiling or large wall, knotty cedar feels natural, continuous, and the knots don’t overwhelm. This lends depth and soft solidity to an interior,” describes Warren. “On exterior applications, we use a wider board to balance the scale of the exterior.”

The Vancouver architect also chose knotty cedar for his own home. For this application, he opted to mute the knots and therefore stained the exterior black to enable the cladding to recede into the forest shadows.

For another project, a coastal inn, Warren finished the knotty cedar with a Swedish preservation system that allows the wood to naturally weather to grey while protecting the surface.

For projects where creating a welcoming, human-scaled environment is a primary design objective, Mira considers knotty Western Red Cedar an especially effective choice. The same applies to residences and buildings seeking to create a strong connection to nature and incorporate enhanced outdoor dwelling spaces. “We frequently incorporate cedar into rainscreen siding, soffits, ceilings, fences, and exterior gathering spaces because of its durability, workability, and timeless appearance. Whether used on multifamily housing or custom residences, cedar consistently provides warmth and authenticity while complementing contemporary architecture,” he relates.

One of the design strategies Farrow likes to employ is uplighting knotty cedar cladding to create a natural warmth and glow at night. For interiors, he specifies knotty cedar to create an honest expression of natural beauty. “With knotty cedar, a room changes. The eye finds places to rest and moments of discovery. You intuitively understand what the building is made of and how it’s put together. There’s also the meditative and day-dreamy quality that it brings to all interiors.”

As an architect and builder, Farrow also appreciates cedar’s ease of construction and the way the material can be used to craft a building and other components. “It goes up quicker than most any other material, and I always keep scraps or remnants for use in everything from frames for artwork, or a cutting board or even a doorstop,” he says.

Enhanced Sustainability

Before delving into the sustainability benefits of knotty cedar, it’s important to recognize the significant contribution wood makes to eco-friendly construction. “Think about it. You have this living process that captures carbon, provides habitat, cleans our air, moderates the climate, and also produces a nearly ready-to-use building product,” observes Warren.

That said, knotty Western Red Cedar actually amplifies these benefits. “In so many ways, knotty cedar is THE sustainable material. It captures carbon, can be regrown, and provides habitat and oxygen while growing, and is biodegradable,” states Farrow.

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Bittermann/JBSA Images

Supporting a greater utilization of harvested wood and better forestry practices, knotty cedar enhances sustainability designs as shown here at the Sokol Blosser Winery in Dayton.

Other distinctive attributes of knotty cedar are its ability to reduce wood waste and the fact that it’s harvested from younger trees. This greater utilization of felled wood is an important ecological and forest management strategy, decreasing carbon loss while improving forest resilience against fires. Of note, an estimated 30% to 40% of harvested wood is discarded. By utilizing wood with knots, manufacturers can make much more efficient use of the material.

By harvesting younger forests, the industry can help preserve first- and second-growth forests. Unlike clear vertical grain cedar, which typically comes from older trees to achieve a denser grain pattern, younger trees have more branches along the full length of the trunk.

“Using and celebrating knotty cedar is a choice that benefits and protects forests,” says Warren. “It allows managed forests to be harvested and regenerated more quickly while protecting greater areas of untouched old-growth forests. In a carefully managed forest, the benefits of growing and harvesting cedar are immense for both the community and the environment.” Matthies adds, “From an embodied carbon perspective, this makes a significant difference to the health of our forest ecosystems.”

Specifying Western Red Cedar is also a way for architects to support all five principles of the American Institute of Architects

Materials Pledge, which prioritizes building materials that positively impact human and environmental health.

• Human Health: Naturally durable cedar reduces reliance on added chemical treatments, supporting healthier indoor and outdoor environments.
• Social Health & Equity: Responsibly sourced cedar supports ethical forestry practices, worker well-being, and local communities.
• Ecosystem Health: Knotty cedar maximizes the use of harvested trees, reducing waste and supporting sustainable forest resource management.
• Climate Health: Cedar stores carbon and typically has a lower embodied carbon footprint than many non-wood building materials.
• Circular Economy: Durable, reusable, and recyclable, knotty cedar supports a long service life and material recovery at end of use.

Showcasing cedar’s exemplary sustainability benefits, FPInnovations compared the environmental performance of Western Red Cedar siding and decking to wood-plastic composite decking, vinyl siding, fiber-cement siding, and clay brick siding in a 2025 study entitled Life Cycle Assessment of Western Red Cedar Decking, Siding, and Competing Products.

Cedar excelled in the following five areas:

• Carbon Positive: Cedar siding stores more carbon than is emitted during its production, installation, maintenance, and end-of-life stages.
• Lower Embodied Carbon: Cedar has a lower greenhouse gas footprint than vinyl, fiber-cement, and brick siding.
• Reduced Energy Demand: Cedar requires less fossil-fuel energy to manufacture than competing siding materials.
• Renewable Resource: Cedar is harvested from sustainably managed forests and continuously replenished through natural growth.
• Strong Life Cycle Performance: Even when maintenance is included, cedar delivers superior overall environmental performance across multiple impact categories.

Better Biophilic Designs

As interest in biophilic design continues to grow and bring the qualities of nature into the built environment, wood remains a popular strategy. Through sight, touch, and smell, building occupants are drawn to wood’s natural qualities. According to Catie Ryan Balatas, an associate partner with Terrapin Bright Green, a consulting and research firm specializing in biophilic design, wood offers the following biophilic properties:

Visually Engaging Complexity: Wood’s natural grain and patterning provide the layered visual complexity found in nature, helping create spaces that feel balanced, inviting, and restorative.

• Human-Centered Materiality: The warm tactile qualities of wood encourage physical comfort and support a more relaxing user experience compared to synthetic materials.
• Natural Sensory Enrichment: Wood introduces subtle natural scents that can positively influence mood and contribute to a healthier indoor environment.
• Warm Visual Ambiance: The natural color palette of wood enhances perceptions of warmth, comfort, and emotional well-being.
• Connection to Nature: Wood serves as a tangible reminder of the natural world, helping occupants feel more connected to nature even within built environments.
• Genuine Natural Expression: Unlike manufactured finishes, wood exhibits authentic variation in grain, texture, and reflectivity, creating a richer and more meaningful sensory experience.

Honing in on Western Red Cedar’s characteristics, she says the wood species’ warm hues, pronounced grain, and tactile qualities amplify its biophilic effects. Its rot-resistant, durable nature supports large-scale exterior and interior designs, and its association with traditional North American structures and Indigenous cultures reinforces occupants’ associations with shelter, protection, and nature.

“Biophilic design is about strengthening people’s connection to nature. Knotty cedar reinforces that connection because every board is unique. The grain patterns, knots, and natural color variation remind occupants that the material originated from a living tree rather than a factory,” states Mira.

Photo courtesy of Auda & Auda Photography

Blending with the lagoon and surrounding trees, the knotty Western Red Cedar siding design for the multifamily Laguna Row development in Carlsbad, California, exemplifies biophilic design at its best.

“In bringing that natural wood character throughout more of the project, all of a sudden, you’re really enhancing those biophilic benefits and strengthening those natural connections. Furthermore, knotty cedar’s rustic character has a very natural feel and can help strengthen the perception that this is a living material,” says Campbell.

Measuring the Benefits

In measuring the performance and healing qualities of biophilic wood designs, Terrapin Bright Green’s 2024 publication, Biophilic Design with Wood in British Columbia, highlights increased productivity and reduced absenteeism in offices, improved academic performance in schools, faster healing and reduced occupational stress in hospitals, and increased dwell time and improved sales in retail establishments.

An interesting study published in the Mass Timber Construction Journal in 2025 examined the opinions of individuals evaluating a wooden key ring and pencil holder with and without knots. The qualities that most attracted participants to the knotted options included cognitive engagement, closeness to nature, perceived personality and uniqueness, and natural appeal.

Knotty Wood Types and Applications

When selecting knotty cedar grades and sizes, architects can choose from a number of options. Starting the highest grade, “Select Knotty,” the assortment of grad types are based on a number of factors including knot size and quality.

For common applications such as siding, trim, soffits, decks, interior walls, and ceilings, knotty cedar is available in a variety of standard sizes and patterns.

Growing Interest

Pushing back against technology overload and the rise of AI, architects anticipate that biophilic materials such as knotty cedar will continue to grow in popularity across a wide range of building types and settings. “Living in a world where technology and AI smooth out all our rough edges, more than ever people are looking for patina, character, and imperfection. We want materials that feel alive,” agrees Decker.

Photo courtesy of Christian Columbre

Harvested from younger trees, knotty cedar supports sustainable foresting and is more readily available.

“The use of knotty Western Red Cedar will continue to grow as a way to support healthy forests, create biophilic environments, and restore interest in honest materials,” adds Hamilton.

In turn, Matthies foresees an expansion of supply chains and distribution networks offering knotty cedar. “It’s such a great material for exterior siding applications, for example, that it makes sense that other regions and markets would be interested. And it’s a way to preserve the old-growth forests that are so critical to carbon sequestration and healthier ecosystems,” he concludes.

All in a Row

Photo courtesy of Auda & Auda Photography

Sited on the edge of a lagoon, knotty red cedar cladding was the perfect fit for the 13-unit multifamily Laguna Row development in Carlsbad, California.

Sited on the edge of a lagoon, minutes from the Pacific Ocean, knotty red cedar cladding was the perfect fit for the highly sustainable, 13-unit multifamily Laguna Row development in Carlsbad, California.

The knotty cedar complements the large operable windows and sliding glass doors, promoting daylight and natural ventilation. The detached, three-story single-family homes surround a central auto court and are angled to optimize privacy, sunlight, and views.

“Knotty cedar tells a story and communicates an authenticity that you don’t get from other siding products. The material communicates so many ideas such as quality and nature. It is unique, but also blends into its setting,” explains Brett Farrow, AIA, designer and developer of the project.

As part of a walkable community close to shops and eateries, this eco-friendly choice matched the development’s eco vibe as a renewable, carbon-capturing material that is durable and naturally beautiful. It further complements the sustainable wood flooring, all-electric appliances, and native plantings. “There’s always stucco and cement board siding, among many choices, but I knew I had to go with cedar for so many reasons.  It’s beautiful untreated, the scent is amazing, it’s insect and water resistant, and it’s also easy to fix or repair if needed,” he states.

For the trim, casing, and fences, Farrow selected 4-sided smooth knotty Western Red Cedar. The siding is made from 1×6 tongue-and-groove KD Select Knotty grade blanks with a semi-transparent stain and fastened with stainless steel siding nails.

To properly sit within the irregularly shaped plot of land that Laguna Row occupies, Farrow managed to fit a sculptural form into a rectangular site. He refers to the design as “chiseled geometrics” with interesting angles and cutouts. The architectural design pulls from the natural setting and California’s coastal modern style.

The development offers five different floor plans with varied window patterns. Conforming to local zoning regulations, each home is built with a 5:12 sloped roof. “Architecturally, the knotty cedar unified all the building forms and gave the project a sense of calm and grace,” he says. “When you approach the building, you recognize the individual cedar boards and get a sense of how the building was constructed,” he continues. “When up close, you can touch it, see the knots and infinite variety while you wait for the front door to be opened.  You know that this building is different.  It works on many levels and communicates quality and a commitment to sustainability.”

While the wood is stained, Farrow admits that he took a risk in letting the cedar naturally age, but so far the gamble is paying off. “People love how it’s changing with time. In many ways its use in the project is a metaphor for the natural cycle of life and living,” he says.

Oregon Performing Arts Center Embraces Knotty Cedar

Photos courtesy of Christian Columbres

Oregon State University’s PRAx performing arts center features tight-knot cedar as a primary facade material, showcasing the university’s commitment to sustainable forestry through research and education.

With lots of ongoing research programs, Oregon State University has strong ties to its state forests. So it was assumed that the new PRAx performing arts center on the Corvallis campus would incorporate natural wood. “OSU was excited to feature tight-knot cedar wood as a primary facade material, as it aligns with OSU’s timber research and construction education goals while maintaining a timeless and elegant appearance befitting a public arts facility,” reports Kim Wilson, principal and owner, Holst Architecture, Portland, Oregon.

For the 500-seat recital hall, black box theater, gallery, and public and learning spaces, the architects mixed grades and tones of cedar to create a dynamic architectural expression. Elaborating on this strategy, Senior Associate Dustin Furseth explains, “Western Red Cedar, rough-sawn and locally sourced, wraps portions of PRAx’s exterior, offering a tactile, natural connection to the region’s forests. The design team used a combination of dark-stained tight-knot cedar for the primary exterior facades, paired with natural-toned clear cedar that carves into the dark facade at the entry points, providing a transition to the warmer-toned wood of the interior spaces.”

The thoughtful choice of finishes, coupled with cedar’s ability to readily accept and support long-term coating performance, played a key role in the design. Holst selected a customized blend of mocha and ebony for the dark-stained sections and a lighter pine-tinted stain for the natural-toned cedar for the soffits, recessed entries, and carved-in window inlays.

“The primary dark cedar volume is punctuated by vibrant, naturally toned cedar that marks the main entrances, highlights the ‘dancing windows’, and marks special moments on the exterior, providing a transition to the warmer-toned wood of the interior spaces,” says Wilson. The tight-knot cedar painted in a dark stain for the siding served to visually even out the knots while still displaying the natural texture and grain of the cedar.

OSU’s deep connection to Oregon forests stems from its College of Forestry serving as steward for 10 research and demonstration forests across the state, comprising 18,000 combined acres of living laboratories. In addition to this guiding PRAx’s design, the project’s material selections were shaped by both the region and durability, reflecting a balance of initial cost, long-term performance, and connection to place.

“The team prioritized materials that withstand heavy public use while requiring minimal maintenance, ensuring the building remains beautiful and functional for decades,” relates Furseth. “The cedar cladding was selected early in the design process over other material options because it is durable, renewable, regional, and beautiful.”

Maxing Out on Knotty Cedar for Halfmoon Bay Cabin

Photos courtesy of Ema Peter

The Halfmoon Bay cabin on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast uses knotty cedar extensively for both the exterior and interior.

Just east of Vancouver Island, Halfmoon Bay is a small, rural community filled with forests, coves, beaches, and waterfront homes. In designing his own cabin, Patrick Warren, senior associate, Frits de Vries Architects + Associates, Vancouver, B.C., wanted to build with as much Western Red Cedar as possible. Fortunately, the price point was right, with architectural-grade cedar enabling him to extensively use the knotty cedar for both the exterior and interior.

Before starting on the design, Warren and his partner camped out on the site to get to know the land. He then took his time selecting the cedar type, board size, color, and finish. “I experimented with all sorts of traditional and modern finishes before selecting the ones we used,” he relates.

“The soffits, ceiling, and interior walls are 1×4 tongue and groove tight knot Western Red Cedar, smooth with a fineline joint. The rectangular joint is critical to the contemporary look and sense of depth to the material. We first treated it with a softwood lye product that tones and brightens the wood color, before adding a top coat with the smallest amount of white pigment. The result is a wood that looks beautifully unfinished, but is protected,” he says.

Warren decided to face the cabinets with the knotty cedar, using the same lye finish for continuity and simplicity. For the louvers, he went with clear cedar. He also applied the lye finish to Douglas fir structural beams and window frames to harmonize the color of the two wood species. “The materials were all chosen for their simplicity and tactility — for their ability to connect our bodies to the space, and bring us back to our rootedness in nature. The extensive use of knotty cedar in our house provides character, but the figuring becomes a background, like stars in the sky,” he explains.

With his design, he pondered the question of whether using too much knotty cedar would be overwhelming. But he concluded that the more extensively it’s used, the more it becomes a field of pattern and texture.

Updating a Construction Company’s HQ with Knotty Cedar

Charged with breathing new life into Acme’s Construction Supply Headquarters grey, outdated building in Lake Oswego, Ore., Scott Edwards Architecture had to choose one of four design aesthetics per jurisdiction requirements. The team selected a “Pacific Northwest Modern” look with exposed beams, trusses, and ductwork to best exemplify the no-nonsense, get-the-job-done brand the company is known for.

It then followed that cedar would be the ideal fit for the siding and cladding.

“From day one, we knew it was going to be cedar,” recalls Brian Campbell, architect, Scott Edwards Architecture, Portland. “In our region, cedar is always going to be a top consideration for siding and cladding, for almost any project, so it’s always going to be in mind. Sometimes you go a different direction, or it ends up not being quite the right fit for a project, but for this one, we knew right away that it was going to be exactly what we wanted.”

Since the project was an extensive renovation, and not a ground-up project, the use of materials and transitions had to be carefully considered. “The big move we did was wrapping a band of knotty cedar siding around the second floor, which really brought a whole new life to the building,” he relates.

Because the material offers flexibility and ease of installation, it gave the team freedom to alter the proportions of the original building front. This ultimately involved a taller, more prominent façade with larger windows and an updated roofline. “Once we had that starting point of that big, strong move on the exterior, we could integrate more knotty cedar throughout the project in smaller little echoes here and there so it all came together,” he explains.

While Campbell describes the knotty cedar as a rustic, rougher type of timber, its application for this project serves to elevate the wood. “It’s a material you might not have given a second glance once upon a time, but now we’re making it the star of the show here in many ways. And all those layers of perception, taken together, we felt really resonated with Acme Construction and their whole ethos and approach,” he adds.

The interiors feature a mezzanine that opens the space with transparency in between the offices and conference rooms and views to the outdoors. Playful additions include a vintage phone booth, game table, nap room, coffee bar, and a vertical, inside bike storage rack.

Overall, the fresh, biophilic design is anchored by the knotty cedar. “It’s that primal feeling… this is wood, this came from a tree. There’s that strong sense of connection, to nature, to the process, to the building itself,” he states.

Knotty Cedar on the Inside and Out

Photo courtesy of Rafael Soldi Photography

Knotty Western Red Cedar delivers durability, appearance, sustainability, and long-term performance for the Wilder Apartments in Seattle.

 

Tasked with building a multi-family property that felt warm, welcoming, and connected to Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, Proper Studio Architecture was looking for the right cladding material.

Working closely with the developer Revolve, the architects evaluated different exterior materials, including fiber cement, composite panels, and metal. Ultimately, Western Red Cedar emerged as the best balance of durability, appearance, sustainability, and long-term performance for the Wilder Apartments.

“The Western Red Cedar rainscreen establishes the building’s identity, while the material continues beneath the commercial canopies, into the landscape fencing, and throughout the interior lobby and lounge spaces,” reports Nick Mira, AIA, LEED AP, principal architect, Propel Studio Architecture, Seattle. “Carrying the same material palette across exterior and interior spaces creates continuity while softening the contemporary architecture with a natural material that will continue to develop character over time.”

The ventilated rainscreen construction enhances the durability, longevity, and performance of the building skin while the cedar creates the defining visual aesthetic. “The natural variation in color and grain provides richness that becomes more apparent the closer you get, creating a memorable experience for residents and visitors alike. It gives the building a timeless quality that feels connected to nature rather than driven by short-term design trends,” he relates.

Knotty cedar was also selected for the cedar soffits beneath the commercial canopies. The wood lends a feeling of warmth to residents and passersby, and serves as a transition into the retail spaces. Cedar fencing was used for the outdoor gathering areas and complements the surrounding landscape.

In the interior, cedar trim and finishes in the lobby and lounge lend a seamless transition from the outdoors to the indoors, creating a cohesive design. “Rather than using cedar as an accent material, we integrated it throughout the building to create a cohesive architectural experience,” says Mira. “It also performs exceptionally well in the Pacific Northwest climate while aging naturally and gracefully over time.”

The architects also selected knotty cedar for its biophilic properties. “Western Red Cedar added warmth and connection to nature, enhancing the building’s inviting atmosphere. Its organic texture aligns with biophilic design principles, fostering a sense of well-being and grounding the modern design in natural elements,” he states.

The Finest Wines

Photo courtesy of Propane Education & Research Council

At the Sokol Blosser Winery Pavilion in Dayton, Oregon, a knotty cedar ceiling, siding, and decking envelope visitors in the outdoor tasting room.

 

At the Sokol Blosser Winery Pavilion in Dayton, Oregon, a knotty cedar ceiling, siding, and decking envelop visitors in the outdoor tasting room, creating biophilic connections to the building materials and views of the surrounding wine country landscape.

“The knotty quality of the flat cedar boards amplifies the idea of the building being carved from a single block of wood,” explains Nathan Hamilton, associate principal, Allied Works Architecture, Portland, Oregon. Conceived as an earthen form, the building structure is shaped to blend with the landscape and provide spaces for occupation, lighting, and gathering.

“While many materials could have fulfilled the building’s ambitions, cedar carried a deeper resonance,” he states. “It is a material rooted in the cultural and physical landscape of the region, familiar in both the forests and architecture that shaped this place over generations. Its warmth, texture, and capacity to weather gracefully establish a continuity between the building and its surroundings.”

The building also houses a library, kitchen, in-ground cellar, and a VIP room. Together with the tasting area, the pavilion serves as a place of gathering, entertaining, and wine tasting. “We strived to create dynamic, vibrant spaces to support the variety of activities taking place inside the tasting room,” says Hamilton. “The knots, together with the rough-hewn faceted surfaces, create a unified body of wood that holds the visitor to the hillside while connecting to the landscape beyond.”

The outward-facing façade is stained in a dark, semi-solid stain while interiors and recessed areas of the exterior feature a transparent stain to best showcase the original cedar color. Select Knotty was used for the ceiling and ceiling, and Architect Knotty comprises the decking. The architects chose 1×6 ceiling panels and a thick butt bevel, and 2×4 panels for the decking.

Knotty Cedar Connects Detroit’s Past and Future

Photos courtesy of Jason Keen

Part of a four-building downtown Detroit housing development plan, John R 2660’s knotty cedar design helps blend the structure’s four-story 35 market-rate apartments with the neighborhood’s historic fabric.

Located in Detroit’s historic Brush Park neighborhood, John R 2660 is part of City Modern, one of the city’s first large-scale housing developments in more than 65 years. Designed by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA), the four-story, mixed-use building is one of four anchor structures intended to bring new housing density to the area while respecting Detroit’s architectural heritage. Wrapped in knotty Western Red Cedar, the project demonstrates how a natural material can bridge the gap between contemporary design and a strong sense of place.

Built atop a poured-in-place concrete podium, the structure contains 35 market-rate apartments above ground-floor retail space. Inspired by Detroit’s urban material palette, the design team selected knotty cedar, metal, and glass to create a building that feels both modern and rooted in its surroundings.

“John R 2660 has become a key example for how new development can both reflect the vast history and anticipate a future for the neighborhood,” says LOHA Founder and Principal Lorcan O’Herlihy.

From the outset, Western Red Cedar was envisioned as a defining design element. The façade is clad in Select Knotty Western Red Cedar milled into 1-by-4-inch tongue-and-groove boards with a ¼-inch reveal. Installed vertically with stainless steel fasteners and finished with a semi-transparent, solvent-borne oil-based stain, the cedar introduces warmth, texture, and visual rhythm across the building’s exterior while allowing the natural character of the wood to remain visible.

The knotty cedar is particularly effective in reinforcing the building’s architectural expression. As the structure steps back at upper levels, horizontal metal coping details between floors emphasize the layered massing. The juxtaposition of vertically oriented cedar boards against strong horizontal bands creates a dynamic interplay of scale and proportion. Dark mullions and metal panels provide contrast against the wood, further accentuating the relationship between vertical and horizontal elements.

The architects also incorporated subtle bends and folds along portions of the lower-level enclosure. Together with the contrasting dark metal bands, these details create visual movement and make the building appear to gently skew as it rises, adding interest to the pedestrian experience. Floor-to-ceiling windows woven throughout the façade bring transparency to the retail spaces and maximize daylight for residents.

Beyond aesthetics, cedar offered important performance advantages. Michigan’s climate presents significant challenges for exterior materials, including freezing temperatures, moisture, and seasonal fluctuations. Western Red Cedar’s natural resistance to rot, decay, and insects made it a durable choice for the project. “Cedar is a good choice for cold environments,” explains O’Herlihy. “Because it has a high R value—meaning that air infiltration is very limited—it requires less mechanical conditioning. So, it’s a good choice for a sustainable envelope.”

Ultimately, the project demonstrates how knotty cedar can do more than provide a durable building envelope. Serving as the primary architectural material, the cedar lends warmth, sustainability, and timeless character to a development designed to connect downtown and midtown Detroit while honoring the city’s past and embracing its future.