diff --git a/docs/layers.md b/docs/layers.md
index 313143e84..6a40f2df0 100644
--- a/docs/layers.md
+++ b/docs/layers.md
@@ -210,6 +210,7 @@ Values for `kind_detail`  are sourced from OpenStreetMap's `building` tag for bu
 * `addr_housenumber`: value from OpenStreetMap's `addr:housenumber` tag
 * `addr_street`: value from OpenStreetMap's `addr:street` tag
 * `area`: in square meters (spherical Mercator, no real-world), `polygon` features only. _See planned bug fix in [#1095](https://github.com/tilezen/vector-datasource/issues/1095)._
+* `building_material`: A description of the material covering the outside of the building or building part, if the information is available. Common values are: `brick`, `cement_block`, `clay`, `concrete`, `glass`, `masonry`, `metal`, `mud`, `other`, `permanent`, `plaster`, `sandstone`, `semi-permanent`, `steel`, `stone`, `timber-framing`, `tin`, `traditional` and `wood`, and there are many other less common values.
 * `height`: in meters, where available
 * `layer`
 * `location`: from OpenStreetMap to indicate if building is underground, similar to `layer`.
diff --git a/integration-test/1408-building-material.py b/integration-test/1408-building-material.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..554e430b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/integration-test/1408-building-material.py
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+from . import FixtureTest
+
+
+class BuildingMaterial(FixtureTest):
+
+    def test_building_material(self):
+        self.load_fixtures([
+            'https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/135174116',
+        ])
+
+        self.assert_has_feature(
+            16, 10484, 25327, 'buildings',
+            {'id': 135174116, 'kind': 'building',
+             'building_material': 'brick'})
+
+    def test_building_part_material(self):
+        self.load_fixtures([
+            'https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/451331532',
+        ])
+
+        self.assert_has_feature(
+            16, 10484, 25324, 'buildings',
+            {'id': 451331532, 'kind': 'building_part',
+             'building_material': 'concrete'})
diff --git a/yaml/buildings.yaml b/yaml/buildings.yaml
index f24293207..6a3c70a26 100644
--- a/yaml/buildings.yaml
+++ b/yaml/buildings.yaml
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ globals:
       building_part: {col: "building:part"}
       building_levels: {col: "building:levels"}
       building_min_levels: {col: "building:min_levels"}
+      building_material: {col: "building:material"}
       height: {col: height}
       min_height: {col: min_height}
       layer: {col: layer}