Bamboo: The Latest Architecture and News

"Bamboo is close to an ideal structural material." This statement by Neil Thomas during his talk at Bamboo U, which took place in November 2017 in Bali, really caught my attention. Neil is the founding director of atelier one, a London office of structural engineering, whose outstanding projects include stage and scenography for the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and U2; art installations by Anish Kapoor and Marc Quinn; the Gardens by the Bay, in Singapore, among many others. From the last few years, the engineer has exhaustively studied about bamboo, its structural properties and its most diverse potential.

The Academy Bezalel students' bamboo project, in Jerusalem, is a proposal that approaches the construction in real scale and the experimentation with materials as an important driving force of architectural design.

The project, a suspended bamboo pavilion, can be reused with different configurations in different places with its joints made up of ropes and 3D printed pieces.

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VTN Architects has revealed the design of the Ting XI Bamboo Pavilion in Xiamen, China, as construction on the project nears completion.

Located on a forested site near the center of the coastal city of Xiamen, VTN Architects selected their signature material, bamboo, to create a flexible interior space capable of hosting a variety of events.

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Each material has its own peculiarities and, when using it for building, the design and construction process must accommodate these characteristics. A steel-framed building, for example, must be designed with a certain level of accuracy so that components and parts, usually manufactured off-site, fit together during assembly. A wooden building can have its cross sections drastically modified according to the species and strength of the wood used, or even according to the direction of the loads in relation to their fibers. With bamboo, no pole is exactly the same and each one tapers and curves differently, which requires a different approach when designing and building.

But how is it possible to work with a material with so many challenges and possibilities?

Bamboo U was an idea originally conceived to help teach professionals about the potential of bamboo as a green building material. In its current form it is a design and bamboo build workshop in Bali hosted by The Kul Kul Farm at the Green School; facilitated in collaboration with the bamboo design firm, IBUKU.

Bamboo U is a unique opportunity to design and build alongside some of the architects, designers and craftsmen who built the Green School. The group will investigate the available sites and hear from Elora Hardy, her team at IBUKU and John Hardy, co-founder of Green School.

Studio Akkerhuis' bamboo design for a mobile theater proposal off the Netherlands coast addresses the characteristics of the material in the construction of light, resistant, accessible and transportable structures.

The project, a compact space similar to a small amphitheater, allows reuse with different configurations in various places with its joints made up of ropes and screws.

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Bamboo has been used by man as a construction material since ancient times. The amazing thing about bamboo, besides being a totally natural material, is that it is sustainable, lightweight, flexible, and inexpensive. Although not widely used in the construction world (at least not when compared to materials like timber), the use of Bamboo enables original and attractive results. This week we have made a selection of 17 photos from well-known photographers such as Julien Lanoo, John Gollings, and Pasi Aalto.

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Last year we had the honor of visiting the incredible bamboo world created by John Hardy and his tribe in Bali, Indonesia. After visiting houses, a school, a hotel, some bridges, factories, a permaculture farm, an architecture office and many other structures created in bamboo, we were left speechless and not sure how to react.

Having emigrated from Canada aged 25, and after a successful 20-year career as a jeweler, John Hardy started out on a project that was very different to anything he had done before. Determined to find a system of building that was more natural and sustainable than standard building techniques, Hardy developed a system of building with bamboo that many now recognize as among the world's most successful (and beautiful) examples of sustainable craftsmanship. In recent years, Hardy's expertise has received global exposure, leading to TED Talks by John in 2010 and by his daughter Elora Hardy in 2015.

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As part of the second Bamboo Biennale held in October 2016, the city of Solo in Central Java received a public Bamboo Bridge courtesy of Indonesian Architects Without Borders (ASF-ID). Connecting the Pasar Gede market and colonial Dutch Vastenburg Fort, the 18-meter bamboo structure offers a revitalization of river life in the historic Indonesian city. Spanning across the Kali Pepe river, residents of Java can traverse the pedestrian bridge on its track that varies in width from 1.8 to 2.3 meters.

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A team of architects from Florence, Italy have won CAMBOO’s bamboo design competition showcasing the material for its strong and sustainable construction qualities. Held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the CAMBOO festival sought to find an innovative design for a landmark pavilion as a centerpiece during the event. Architects Roberto Bologna, Fernando Barth, Chiara Moretti and Denny Pagliai beat out 125 entries with their winning “Hyperbamboo” pavilion, which was chosen for its “intelligent and well thought out use of bamboo as a construction material.”

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BambooU(niversity) was an idea originally conceived to help teach professionals about the potential of bamboo as a green building material. In its current form it is a design and bamboo build workshop in Bali hosted by The Kul Kul Farm at the Green School; facilitated in collaboration with the bamboo design firm, IBUKU.

Last september, the first-ever International Bamboo Architecture Biennale was held in the peaceful village of Baoxi in China's Zhejiang province. Curated by local artist Ge Qiantao and architect George Kunihiro, the event saw the construction of 18 bamboo-centered structures designed by 12 architects, including notable names such as Kengo Kuma, Vo Trong Nghia, Anna Herringer, Li Xiaodong and Simon Velez. Aimed at exploring the potential of the sustainable material within contemporary architecture, the structures were built as permanent fixtures that will continue to serve the town after the Biennale’s close.

In this photoset, photographer Julien Lanoo has captured the vibrant results of the inaugural event, exhibiting the structures against the rural mountain landscape.

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Videos

VTN Architects (formerly known as Vo Trong Nghia Architects), has revealed plans for the Son La Ceremonial Domes, a series of of 5 bamboo structures that will provide entry and dining amenities for the larger hospital complex, also designed by VTN.

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