You want a stained wood look, then best to use stained wood, yes? Some of the older homes in our neighborhood have redwood siding, don't know how popular that is these days.

We wanted fiber cement for fire resistance but probably would have picked Hardie anyway for easy maintenance. Our house was always going to be painted, though.

Good luck!

No we are going to paint the siding.. so maybe hardie is the best option.

Lots and lots of options. First, real planks and battens using cedar. Second, panelized materials starting with plywood with applied wood battens, and moving into artificial materials. You will need to carefully design what is to be used, since there may be the need for one or more horizontal joints, give the height of your exterior wall. It all depends on the maximum height of the materials to be used. For example, plywood panels generally come in 8, 9 or 10-foot lengths. Horizontal joints are flashed with "Z" flashing to keep the water out. The "Z" flashing may be left exposed (I personally don't like it when B&B is used) or covered with a horizontal "batten" which matches the vertical battens or is another dimension. That's why the location and placement is a significant design issue.

Attached are our exterior elevations. We do not plan on doing the horizontal siding at the bottom. Our architect drew it that way because that is what we have now (our project is a renovation/addition). Virgil, is plywood siding durable long term if painted? Would that look better than fiber cement?

Re the panel and batten, if I had a redo I would make sure the builder and architect had all the details of the wall worked out well in advance.

I had wanted a continuous layer of exterior insulation and builder was using advanced framing; at the end of the day the exterior insulation is only "mostly continuous." Would have been easier to address had we wanted lap siding or not used advanced framing. (Sorry I probably am not explaining this well.)

"...Virgil, is plywood siding durable long term if painted? Would that look better than fiber cement?..."

Yes, any materials is "durable" if properly maintained, and kept free of ground contact. That said, the lifespan of materials does vary, as does initial cost.

You should confer with your architect about standard panel sizes and where best to locate horizontal joints along the exterior walls. It appears he has shown that condition occurring at the plate line of the exterior walls. Another option is to locate it along the line of the window sills. It's a very different architectural effect. It all depends on the height of your major walls, and the panel (or lumber) sizes being specified.

Good luck!