cave urban folio #1 - bamboo and lightweight structures

Contents

Framework and Cladding 1Bridges 63Water 83Bamboo Structures 89Living Structures 111Contact 114Bamboo Appendix 116Bamboo Workshops 122

Cave Urban

is a grass roots design collaborative.It is an open forum created to cultivate research and connections between individuals and organisations locally and globally by:

• Finding present-day solutions for sustainable systems based on vernacular and indigenous models• Using organic, recycled and recyclable materials• Sourcing local materials where possible • Encouraging community interaction

It is a group focused on learning and sharing ideas in response to environmental and social issues.

2011-14 Folio This Folio is the first folio (in a series of three) that aims to explore projects by architects, artists, builders, communities, designers and students across the world; forging connections between contemporary architectural practice, traditional vernacular building and modern pioneers.

The folio researches lightweight structures and chronicles the resulting prototypes, mentors, concepts and field trips. It is compiled as a reference and partial resource for Bamboo building design, exploring historical and modern vernacular building techniques in various countries.

Any copy of this book issued by the publisher as a paperback is given subject to the condition that it shall by way of trade or otherwise be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated with the publisher’s blessing.

Copyright © 2014 by Cave Urban, Sydney

All parts of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

FRAMEWORK AND CLADDING 1

Images from Memmott, P. (2007). Gunyah Goondie + Wurley:The

Aboriginal Architecture of Australia. St Lucia:University of Queensland Press. Opposite: p 92, above colckwise from

top left: p 166, 167, 156, back cover.

The facing page shows the framework of a dome in northeast Queensland constructed by digging saplings into the ground, bending and tying them with split cane.

The sequence above shows the framework and cladding of a small wet-season dome, built in 1929 by an Aboriginal man of the Yintjingga tribe (pictured left) at the mouth of the Stewart River in Cape York, Queensland. The structure was made of flexible saplings with paperbark (melaluca) roof cladding draped around the frame. The small entry deterred mosquitoes and rain.

In the dry season Aboriginals preferred to sleep on exposed raised platforms, thus their architecture was temporal, adjusted or recreated seasonally in response to climate and lifestyle change.

Anthropologist and Architect Paul Memmott (left) is the director of the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre in the School of Geography, Planning and Architecture at the University of Queensland.

Since the 1970s his research has focused on Aboriginal people’s use of space and place, evolving into a study of the social anthropology of Aboriginal Australia.

In 2007 Dr Memmott published Gunyah, Goondie & Wurley: the Aboriginal Architecture of Australia (2007). This is the first thorough attempt to document and analyse Aboriginal architecture.

“Gunyah Goondie & Wurley fills an important need not only regarding Aboriginal Environments but as a model for other reviews and syntheses of vernacular design.”

– Memmott, P. (2007). Gunyah Goondie & Wurley: The Aboriginal Architecture of Australia. preface

PHD ON ABORIGINAL ARCHITECTURE


Images from Memmott, P. (2007). Gunyah Goondie + Wurley:The Aboriginal

Architecture of Australia. St Lucia:University of Queensland

Press. Opposite: p 95, above colckwise from top left: p 227,

47, 217.

These simple half dome shelters from the Western Desert are known as wiltja, a word also used to describe the shadow cast by a tree or rock. The structure to the left consists of intersecting domes, which implies a close kinship link between the inhabitants. The organic nature of this dome structure readily facilitates changes in family dynamics.

Top left is a wiltja covered in a layer of spinifex up to 1m thick at the base to protect against cold winds. The leeward side is exposed achieving both openness and protection. Top right is a wiltja being built around a grieving Yankuntjatjara mother in 1971, where kin express sympathy and support by constructing the shelter.

Pictured opposite in the northeast Queensland rainforest fan-palm leaves are thatched and arranged in overlapping layers to form a kind of large shingle diverting heavy rain away.

LEAVES AND SPINIFEX


Images from Memmott, P. (2007). Gunyah Goondie + Wurley:The Aboriginal

Architecture of Australia. St Lucia:University of Queens-

land Press. Opposite: p 138, this page p 139

The domed house to the left is typical of the region located near Cooper Creek in southwest Queensland. The entrance was formed using two logs with a sunken floor protected from floods by a perimeter earth mound. The typology existed well into the 1940s.

The Queenslander newspaper described them in 1877 as being “...neatly made with arched doorway and sunken floor.” (from Memmott, P. (2007). Gunyah Goondie & Wurley: The Aboriginal Architecture of Australia. p 137).

The facing page shows a framework of heavy limbs arranged to form a dome-shaped shelter. This type of construction was typical of the Lake Eyre basin region, as curved limbs were sourced from large trees edging the dry watercourses.

The following extract provides a succinct evaluation of the relationship between Aboriginal vernacular lightweight structures and their sustainable relationship with the land:

“Aboriginal architecture is the antithesis of the introduced Western styles...they discovered their temples and cathedrals in the ready-made structures of the landscape itself...If there is a single lesson to be taken from Memmott’s account, it is the overriding importance of climate.”

- Extract from book review by Philip Drew, Sydney Morning Herald 14/12/2007

Left: the framework of several shelters in the Lake Eyre basin, western Queensland, recorded in the 1890s:

(a) Plan and elevation of a wet-weather shelter (kurauwi); the frame is covered with mud between layers of grass.(b) A kurauwi with a small, temporary bough shelter (winji-winji) attached for protection of the fire from sudden rain.(c) A winji-winji constructed against a tree.

BOUGHS AND EARTH


The beehive-shaped dwellings on the facing page are built by the women of the Toposa tribe in South Sudan from thatch and wood. Elevating the structures improves ventilation, prevents dust from entering the home and provides shade underneath. The sun shade of a Kiridi lodging in Cameroon (left) is piled high with grass, supported by forked branches.

Further east in Ethiopia, dwellings are built directly on the ground. The dome, pictured far left, is woven using split bamboo or cane.

In the Torres Strait Islands the Meriam people constructed similar shaped domes (above) with a diameter of up to 6m. The structure was split bamboo, clad with pandanus, palm and grass.

Facing image: http://mercybeyondborders.blogspot.com.au. Clockwise from top left: Memmott, P. (2007).

Gunyah Goondie + Wurley: The Aboriginal Architecture of Australia. p 19; ibid; “IL-31 Bambus-Bamboo” p. 265;

http://bioenergy.inbar.int/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

AFRICA AND TORRES STRAIT


The facing page shows an aerial view of Nyagatom village in Ethiopia.

The vernacluar huts are circular in plan (immediate left) built with a dome shaped framework of branches (far left) covered in bound bundles of grass (above).

All images from “Primitive Architecture” Enrico Guidoni p. 90-91 (plates 145, 146, 148)

ETHIOPIAN STRAW DOME


The Dorze people are a small ethnic group in Ethiopia. They are famous for their huge huts, which are around 12m high made from timber poles and woven split bamboo. Although these huts look fragile, they can last up to 60 years.

The lightweight timber and bamboo structure enables the huts to be transported to other locations according to the seasons and changes in the community. Every hut has a small hood protruding on its south side, serving as a front alcove for visitors. The entire structure is covered with a thatch of enset (false-banana).

Clockwise from top left: Dorze village; building a Dorze hut by

weaving split bamboo; a borana home made using a combination

of thatch and plastic. Facing page:a thatch hut of the

Mursi people

All images copyright Sergio Pessolano. Images

sourced online: http://www.sergiopessolano.it/galleria2/

ethiopia/

ETHIOPIAN VERNACULAR


Richard Buckminster Fuller was an American architect, author, inventor, humanitarian, educator and the father of modern tensile structures. His understanding of sustainability and synergetics is fundamental to both modern and indigenous systems.

Fuller was an early environmental activist. In 1927 Fuller resolved to “finding ways of doing more with less to the end that all people everywhere can have more and more.”. This sustainable concpet was closely linked to the notion of synergetics; a study of systems in transformation, with an emphasis on total system behaviour rather than isolated components.

Clockwise from top left: Raleigh, 1954, from Buffalo / School

of Architecture and Planning; available online at designmuseum.

org/design/r-buckminster-fuller; available online at http://thombeau.

blogspot.com.au/; United States Pavilion, World Trade Fair, Kabul, Afganistan, 1956 available online

at http://andreasangelidakis.com; Opposite: R. Buckminster Fuller

and MIT Lincoln Laboratory’S FFirst Radome 1952 Courtesy MIT

Lincoln Laboratory Lexington

THE BIRTH OF GEODESICS

Fuller was a pioneer in thinking globally. He was concerned about sustainability and human survival under the existing socioeconomic system. Defining wealth in terms of knowledge, as the: “Technological ability to protect, nurture, support, and accommodate all growth needs of life”, Fuller was convinced that the accumulation of knowledge and resources that had already been extracted from the earth had attained a critical level, such that competition for necessities was over.


Facing image from The Dymax-ion World of Buckminster Fuller,

available online http://lesliebloom.wordpress.com/page/25/. This

page clockwise from top left: pho-tograph from Princeton University;

plan of a reciprocal dome available online http://blog.g8-life.com;

image from ‘The wooden roofs of Leonardo and the new structural

research’ Nexus Network Journal, Vol. 10,1, 2008, 206 p. Birkhäuser;

photograph from http://blog.g8-life.com.

Fuller is best known for inventing the geodesic dome, a semi-sphere constructed of triangular components derived from the icosahedron. However, unknown to Fuller, it was actually the German engineer Walter Bauersfeld who built the first geodesic dome almost 20 years earlier in 1912. The Zeiss I planetarium in Jena (top left).

The geodesic dome design is far stronger than any structure based on right angle geometry - to test this, he and his students suspended themselves from the dome’s framework (pictured on facing page). Fuller pioneered the use of lightweight tensile materials, even conducting experiments with bamboo at the Architecture College in Calcutta. The reciprocal domes pictured to the left and above are a variation of the geodesic dome, where their interlocking nature eliminates the need for connectors.

TENSEGRITY


Cave Urban, Woodford 2010: The development of a geodesic pineapple from coconuts and bamboo for “The Pineapple Lounge”. All materials used were organic and the structure was fully dismantled at the end of the festival, stored for reuse.

This was the formula sheet compiled and used by Cave Urban to design and construct the geodesic pineapple for the “Pineapple Lounge” at Woodford Folk Festival 2010. It is based on the geometry of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome, that uses the icosahedran grid.

BAMBOO AND COCONUT GEODESIC PINEAPPLE

From top left: inventor Dave Goldie assembling the geodesic dome using

pieces of bamboo wedged into the coconut connectors; making final

connections en situe; team photo of pineapple builders; detail of coconut

connection; Honey and Stella at the juice bar; neon pineapple sign and logo design

by Honey.


The Pineapple Lounge project develops more each year, so that Cave Urban folk experiment with simple building

skills whilst re-designing and improving upon past ideas.

Cave Urban, Woodford 2011: Further development of “The Pineapple” into a geodesic globe, incorporating

the juice bar within the pineapple structure. The coconut joints were replaced with recycled vinyl tubing to

increase consistency, ease and speed of construction. Plastic zip ties connected the individual tubes in place

so the assembly process was simple, quick and did not require specialised tools or skills.

Clockwise from top left: Nici reaching towards the top of the globe; finished pineapple lounge; pondering the two pieces of the incomplete globe; detail of the vinyl and plastic zip tie connector. Facing page: the final connection.

5 METRE BAMBOO GLOBE WITH VINYL TUBE CONNECTORS


In response to the use of a plastic connector in 2011, Cave Urban has developed an organic connector, Bam Clam 1. Designed by inventor Dave Goldie (pictured left) and tested by engineer Jeremy Sparks (pictured below left), the prototype was made with resin and sawdust.

The connector (opposite) requires only one bolt, reducing construction time and eliminating the need for skilled labour. The knob and knuckle system ensures that the stresses are distributed evenly, preventing the bamboo struts from splitting. Tests revealed that the connector was capable of carrying point loads of 220kg.

To fit the clamp, the bamboo struts are injected with resin and a ball socket is cast at the end of each strut, ensuring a perfect fit with the clamp.This overcomes irregularities inherent in any natural element such as variation in the diameter of the bamboo struts. Stress tests have already been carried out with different natural fibres and Bam Clam 1 is now at a stage where it is ready to manufacture in resin with hemp and coconut fibre or bamboo shavings.

Clockwise from top left: Dave and Jeremy testing the connector at 1:1 scale; inside and outside of the connector; resin and sawdust prototype.

Facing page: Dome prototype produced by Hao Dang (pictured left), director of Grass Service Trading Production Company Ltd.

DEVELOPING A BAMBOO GEODESIC CONNECTOR


The Pineapple Lounge at the Woodford Folk Festival 2012-2014 features the Bam-Clam geodesic dome. This structure (pictured from within on the facing page) employs Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic design. The resulting “pineapple” was a 5m dia 3/4 dome, clad in bamboo sheaths (pictured top left and middle).

Other bamboo building techniques used included post and beam building for the smokers lounge (left) and a fish belly truss for the juice bar (above). A bamboo leaf shade structure (below left) was built using a lashing technique by Georges Cuvillier and Ronnie Sammut.

All images by Cave Urban

WOODFORD FOLK FESTIVAL BAMBOO STRUCTURES


Tent for Spiritual Midwifery Workshops designed by Nici Long and Juan Pablo Pinto.

The geodesic frame is made of bamboo with a natural membrane covering. It has a pentagonal ridge vent that draws cool air through the interior space and arched openings that are raised for light and air and lowered for privacy or inclement weather.

CAVE URBAN GEODESIC PROTOTYPE


Tent 2 is a woven alternative to geodesic framework. Comprised of an organic woven membrane fitted to external face, this design by Nici Long and Juan Pablo Pinto uses hemp, canvas and woven split bamboo.

All images on this spread are by Juan Pablo Pinto, June 2011

Naiju Residential Centre and Kindergarten in Chikuho, Fukuoka (Japan) Built by architect Shoei Yoh Hamura in 1995. Inspired by the local methods of bamboo weaving, this project blends the lightness and flexibility of bamboo with the strength and plasticity of concrete.

A mesh of split bamboo canes was suspended, creating a three-dimensional load-bearing matrix with folds and pleats. This irregular structure was covered by a blanket of polyurethane, that acted as support for the concrete layer applied on top.

Clockwise from top left: Vitra Design Museum. (2000). Grow Your Own House: Simon Velez

and bamboo architecture. Wel am Rhein: Vitra Design

Museum. p 226; 224; http://www.world-architects.com/

portal/profile/pics/12388/yohshoei_pp.jpg.

BAMBOO NET AND FERROCEMENT KINDERGARTENCAVE URBAN WOVEN PROTOTYPE26


This amphitheatre proposal is designed for the Woodford Folk Festival by Nici Long and Juan Pablo Pinto. The woven structural membrane, bamboo beams and steel anchors (and eventually vines to tie the structure back into the landscape) create an acoustic and protective retractable stage cover. The stage is built from recycled timber pallets.

Top: sectional perspective of

bamboo stage; left and facing

page: stage photomontage; above: concept

sketches for stage design.

CAVE URBAN PROPOSAL FOR FOLK FESTIVAL AMPHITHEATRE


Shono Shounsai (pictured right in his home c 1960) was the most influential artist in all of Japan in expanding bamboo art beyond the limitation of the vessel into the realm of sculpture. In 1967 he was named Living National Treasure. Above are different details of his take on the traditional flower basket, Shimmering of Heated Air.

These images and information come from a book written to accompany an exhibition in 2007, which showcased 900 bamboo baskets. The book meticulously explains the teaching methods and traditions of bamboo artistry.

All images from: Rinne, M. (2007). Masters of Bamboo: Artistic Lineages in the Lloyd

Costen Japanese Basket Collection. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum. p 92; p

32. Facing page: Galaxy 2001 by Honda Syoryu, p 57.

MASTER OF BAMBOO ARTISTRY


Images from the World Buildings Directory Online

Database, available online: http://www.worldbuild-

ingsdirectory.com/project.cfm?id=1844

VIETNAM MODERN DOME


Images from Cave Urban field trip to Vietnam, June 2011. Portrait of Vo Trong Nghia sourced online: http://www.vietopia.com/a-designer-who-puts-nature-into-modern-structures/Drawings available online: http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=12630. Article pub-lished in The World Architecture News, Friday 30 Oct 2009.

Vo Trong Nghia studied architecture in Japan on a government scholarship. After graduating from Nagoya Institute of Technology, he returned to Vietnam and started his own architectural practice in 2006. This page and the previous spread features the “Wind and Water” (wNw) Bar in Binh Duong, Vietnam, completed by locals in three months in 2009.

The wNw bar embodies the principles of passive ventilation tested using computer simulations of the spaces to study the airflow and the cooling capacity of the water drawn naturally from the surrounding lake through the interior and up through the oculus (above right). Avoiding the use of air conditioning drastically lowered the building’s energy costs. The methods used to connect the structure are inspired by traditional construction techniques allowing the design to be adapted to other sites and in other communities across Vietnam.

WIND AND WATER BAR


All images and research sourced from article by: Rosenberg, Andrew. “Bamboo Structure Project / Pouya

Khazaeli Parsa” 07 Dec 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 01 Mar 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/93922> Portrait image available online: http://www.architizer.

com/en_us/people/profile/pouya_khazaeli_parsa/.

Iranian architect Pouya Khazaeli Parsa studied architecture at Tehran Azad University, graduating in 2000. In June 2007 he founded Rai Studio with the aim of reviving “the lost spirit of architecture”.

This “Bamboo Dome” was built in a suburban area in Mazandaran, Iran. The bamboo was cut two days prior to use so that it was still soft and flexible during construction. The total cost for this prototype was 900 US dollars, making it a cost effective emergency shelter. The unique shape also provides resistance against strong winds and earthquakes.

Three unskilled people constructed it in two days, plugging the bamboo lengths into a spiral steel base. After completing the frame and secondary structure bunches of cropped rice were collected from one of the many post-harvest rice fields in the area. Each bunch was bound at the top and overlapped. A major benefit of using rice as cladding is that they expand when wet, stopping moisture from penetrating, while in warm weather they shrink and ventilate the space

IRANIAN SHELTER


Simón Vélez was born in Manizales, Colombia, in 1949. His affinity for bamboo began whilst working in rural areas. To date, Vélez has designed bamboo buildings in Germany, France, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, China, Jamaica, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Indonesia and India.

At the request of the Zero Emissions Research and Initiative Foundation Vélez designed a 2000m2 bamboo pavilion for Expo Hanover 2000. It was the first time in history that a bamboo structure received a building permit in Germany although this was not until Vélez’s partner and financier, Gunter Pauli convinced German engineers to test a 1:1 prototype in Colombia in 1999. It was the only building to have no need for cranes or heavy machinery in its construction and cost a lot less than other pavilions.

The structural integrity of the Zeri Pavilion was supported by the research of the Vergiate Bamboo Pavilion in Florence, Italy, by Oscar Hidalgo, in association with engineer Mario de Miranda and professor Walter Liese. The DIN code for bamboo construction in Germany was developed by Carolina Zuluaga Zuleta.

“In Colombia, there is a stigma attached to bamboo as being the ‘wood of the poor,’ and many architects turn their noses up at it,” said Vélez, adding that bamboo traditionally has been used in housing and communal structures built by indigenous and impoverished communities. “But I’ve discovered it has a lot of advantages.” These include its beauty and inherent strength, which according to Vélez, has double the weight-to-resistance ratio of steel.

Unlike most woods, bamboo is easily and rapidly replaceable – during the four years needed to grow bamboo, the plants provide an opportune way of preventing soil erosion. Thus bamboo represented “a form of symbiosis between the act of producing a natural building material and that of putting it to constructive use. An integrating concept, evoked in Spanish – with the agronomic, social and poetic overtones – by the expression “arquitectura cultivable”…“Grow your own house”.”

Above images available online: http://www.marcelovillegas.com/w/pavellon-de-guadua/;

portrait image and image on facing page from: Vitra Design Museum. (2000). Grow

Your Own House: Simon Velez and bamboo architecture. p, 56, 26-27.

SIMON VELEZ - GODFATHER OF BAMBOO ARCHITECTURE

quote from Vitra Design Museum. (2000). Grow Your Own House: Simon Velez and Bamboo Architecture. p. 42


Images from: Villegas, M. (2003). Guadua: Arquitectura

y Diseno. Bogota: Villegas Editores. Opposite: p. 46-47. Above from left: p. 51, p. 49

This spread features sketch designs, precedent images and photographs of the Temporary Cathedral at Pereira, Colombia, built in 1999 by Simon Velez. Made using bamboo that grows next to rivers, the curve of the arch was formed naturally as the bamboo grew over the space above the river.

It served as the temporary church after the original 200 year old stone cathedral was destroyed by an earthquake. The stone structure was later restored and Vélez’s cathedral removed.

TEMPORARY CATHEDRAL


Pictured here is Alvar Aalto’s Finnish pavilion designed in 1936 for the Paris World Fair. The 15 metre tall pavilion is comprised of four floors, each showing photographs of different elements of Finland.

When asked about the project Aalto had said “It was no easy work – composing the individual elements into one symphony.”

In Aalto’s architecture, wood has an important role symbolically and as a material. He emphasises the organic characteristics of wood and its relationship with people and nature through his architecture.

The Nomadic Museum in Mexico City, is a purpose-built temporary struc-ture used to house the Ashes and Snow photography and film exhibition by Gregory Colbert, who conceived of the idea for a sustainable travelling museum; envisioned as a structure that would be the architectural equiva-lent of open arms, a place where nature is celebrated.

In building the museum Vélez created the largest bamboo structure ever built: The 5,130 sqm museum is a monumental structure built entirely of renewable resources, housing two galleries and three theatres.

Clockwise from top left: interior detail of undulating facade, avail-able online: http://tectonicablog.

com/?p=4491; exterior photograph of the Nomadic Museum, available

online: www.archleague.org; interior of auditorium available online: http://

www.items.nl/magazine/2011/2/8/items-1-2010/

Portrait image from the Alvar Aalto Museum.

Other images from http://www.designboom.com/

history/aalto/pavilion.html

NINETEEN THIRTIES PAVILIONBAMBOO PAVILION42


Left image available online at http://www.panyaden.

ac.th/school-architecture/; 24H team photograph available online http://www.24h.eu/; top and

facing page from Cave Urban field trip to Thailand,

December 2011

24H is an architectural firm based in Rotterdam founded in 2001. They have worked on projects across Europe.

In 2010, 24H completed the Panyaden School in Chiang Mai, Thailand, located on a site covering 5000sqm. The school is situated in the lush green surroundings of a former orchard, south of the city of Chiang Mai. The School consists of an organic arrangement of pavilions inspired by the shape of the tropical antler horn fern. The entire school has been built from local earth and local bamboo that has been naturally treated to withstand the elements.

SCHOOL IN THAILAND


The photograph top left and facing page top right detail the connections at the roof and base of the buildings. The bamboo cluster base is connected to a natural stone foundation by threaded steel rods that are drilled into the stone. Concrete is then pumped into the bamboo chamber to set the bamboo around the threaded rod.

The silhouette of the unique ridgeline was modelled the distant mountain range that is viewed from the school site.

Facing page: left, details of the leaf cladding used for the roof, right - a closeup of the stone footings and

bottom right, a building that suspends tent fabric from a bamboo structure, with

bamboo roof shingles.

This page: drawings (far right) available online: http://www.openbuildings.com/buildings/panyaden-school-

profile-42057; bamboo draing (middle)roof and base connections (left) -

photographs by Cave Urban from field trip to Thailand in November 2011.

FOOTING SYSTEMSROOF SYSTEMS46


Clockwise from top left: interior photo by Cave Urban; drawings available online http://openbuildings.com/buildings/green-school-profile-4272/media#; rafters of a bamboo roof under construction; view from inside the main building; plan view of class rooms and solar panels; view of building raised on bamboo stilts; recycled and thatched roof materials. Facing page: split bamboo balustrade. All photographs by Cave Urban.

The Green School in Bali is a pioneering education system, designed to teach a global community about sustainability.The school is located on a sustainable campus straddling both sides of the Ayung River in Sibang Kaja, within a lush native jungle growing alongside sustainable organic gardens. Over 70 buildings make up the campus, powered in part by solar panels, and are are under engineer review and certification of Prof. Ashar Saputra.

The project was founded by John and Cynthia Hardy, designed and built by an international team of designers, builders, and craftsmen gathered by John Hardy specifically for the task. Many of this original team later joined Ibuku when it was founded in 2010. Joerg Stamm, a German builder who specializes in bamboo, was a key contributor to this process along with artist Aldo Landwher.

“We are building Green School to create a new paradigm for learning. We want children to cultivate physical sensibilities that will enable them to adapt and be capable in the world. We want children to develop spiritual awareness and emotional intuition, and to encourage them to be in awe of life’s possibilities.” - John Hardy

JOHN HARDY


The Green Village was designed by Elora Hardy, creative director of the Ibuku brand, she explains the Green Village as having “...redefined the potential of sustainable materials. It is a place where people connect with nature.” Set along the terraced slopes of the Ayung River in Sibang, Bali, Green Village is a master-planned community of eighteen dramatically unique homes, each custom designed, and hand-constructed to embody the inherent strengths and versatility of bamboo.

Surrounding images and image on facing page exemplify the myriad of structural and interior applications of bamboo. All photographs by Cave Urban.

THE GREEN VILLAGE - ELORA HARDY


Built in 2007, the Three Mountain – or Tiga Gunung – Workshop has three 15-metre towers to resemble the shape of three volcanoes. The Three Mountain Workshop is used for events, company assembly and to welcome guests to the John Hardy Workshops and Gallery.

At the time of construction, the 14,000 square-foot building was considered the largest bamboo building in the world. The construction process took 10 weeks, using 1400 bamboo poles and 12,500 pieces of Alang-alang cladding.

Drawing and construction image above from: Jorg Stamm Presentation 2011 “Viva Guadua” Caliz, Colombia. All remaining photographs on

this spread are from the Cave Urban field trip to Indonesia, September 2011.

Designed by Malaysian architect Cheong Yew Kuan, Kapal Bambu (Bamboo ship) jewellery showroom (above) was inspired by the shape of a ship. The roof form of this beautiful building is reminiscent of the traditional “rumah gadang” roofs in Western Sumatra.

Made almost entirely of bamboo, the showroom is built so it has little impact on the ground plane inspired by the way a boat floats across water.

The floor within the gallery emphasises this idea of touching the ground lightly (left). As it rises and falls to define the interior space it exposes the ground underneath, allowing grass and plants to grow through.

JEWELLERY FACTORY


Opening with round moon doors (left) and overlooking the compound, are the meeting rooms. Made primarily using bamboo, the rooms are naturally ventilated. The circular door detail was also adopted in a private residence (above), where the partition is more permeable.

The exterior of the meeting rooms are finished with plaster render over woven split bamboo (below left). The traditional technique of rendering bamboo is visually and functionally effective. The render gives extra protection to the bamboo cladding, helping waterproof and preserve it.

All images are from the Cave Urban field trip to Indonesia, September 2011, with the exception of the top left image, sourced from John Hardy’s website, available online: http://www.johnhardy.com/spirit/virtual-tour/meeting-rooms-3

BAMBOO INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR


All photographs on this spread are from the Cave Urban field trip to Indone-

sia, September 2011.

The Bambu Indah Hotel is made up of a collection of traditional vernacular Balinese houses collected from across Java and brought to the site by John and Cynthia Hardy, each with a distinct character and memorable story. The black bamboo house is made of bamboo and is a bamboo replica of a traditional wooden long house from the Minang culture in Sumatra

The woven womb-like rooms featured on the facing page were designed by Aldo Landwher to house the reception and a small library at the Bambu Indah hotel. Their design is reminscent of traditional woven fishing traps.

WOVEN ROOMS


Clockwise from top left: “Orini’s House”. designed

by Jorg Stamm, utilizes the old technique of flex-ible arches made out of

bamboo bundles.

All colour images from Jorg Stamm presentation

for the 1st international bamboo festival “Viva Gua-dua” 2011 Cali, Colombia.

Bottom left: reed bundles as an arched structure for houses in Madras,

Mesopotamia Iraq. From Frei Otto’s Dissertation

on bamboo in 1985 IL-31 Bambus-Bamboo p 33

(14).

Bottom right: the marsh dwellers have populated

the endemic wetlands for 5,000 years. This photo

was taken in the 1950’s, available online: http://

booksnbuildings.tumblr.com/post/26145618940/catrinastewart-ma-adan-

iraq-the-marsh

Facing page, left: a flexible spliced bamboo bundle at the Panyaden visitor cen-

tre, Chiang Mai from Cave Urban field trip to Thailand

in November 2011;

Facing page, right: natural curvature obtained by

curved compression bamboo rods. From IL-31

Bambus-Bamboo p 307

BUNDLED BEAMS


The team members are:

Architect Jonathan Cory-Wright, Founder and Lead designerInterior Designer Bárbara Del CanoSet designer Margherita BertoliTecnhical Architect Carlos Jiménez AsenjoArtist Carlos Serrano RonceroTherapist Hugo GarcíaArchitect Mafalda FernandesStage Technician Daniel Anselmo

CanyaViva describe themselves as an itinerant group of architects, constructors and instructors of a building technique based on the optimum use of bamboo and Mediterranean cane, for their unique properties of form, flexibility and resistance.

CanyaViva´s method of construction began with the observation of cane in its natural state and the spaces created by its growth over a small river in the south of Spain. This naturally occurring environment gave the impulse to explore, touch, weave and tie the cane, preserving its form but giving it the structure necessary to resist the weight of various people at a time, whilst creating fluid, organic and surprisingly strong architectural spaces.

All images property of CanyaViva

- http://canyaviva.

com/English/Perfil.html

CANYA VIVA

BRIDGES 63

Jörg Stamm was born in Drohlshagen, Germany. After studying he became a Peace Corps worker who fell in love with bamboo while visiting Colombia. In 2007 he designed the world’s first PVC Tent bamboo bridge made of four arches in Colombia, each with 6 lines of bamboo spanning 30m. Castro Rojas designed the saddle form with steel cable tie anchors at each corner securing the roof to the embankments and reinforcing the bamboo.

This page: All images available online: http://

bambooroo.net/bridge_colombia.php excluding portrait image available online: panyaden.ac.th

Oopposite page: Bam-boo Structure for John

Hardy, from Jorg Stamm Presentation 2011

“Viva Guadua” Caliz, Colombia.

COLUMBIAJORG STAMM62

BRIDGES 65BAMBOO WORKSHOP THAILAND

Facing page and above image: completion of Hyperbolic Bridge

designed by Mark Emery started in October 2011 during the Bamboo-roo workshop in which Cave Urban

Participated. Available online: http://www.facebook.com/bambooroo. All other images taken during the field

trip in 2011.

BRIDGES 67

Bamboo is well suited to bridge building due to its lightweight nature, tensile strength, and large span. The original Green School bridge (immediately above) was designed by Jorg Stamm and was swept away during a flood in 2011, as seen in the remaining images, a replace-ment bridge was completed in January 2012.

Above image and image on facing page extracted

from: Jorg Stamm Presentation 2011 “Viva Guadua” Caliz, Colom-bia. All other images by

Cave Urban

GREEN SCHOOL BRIDGE

BRIDGES 69

Crosswaters Ecolodge is the first ecotourism destination in China. Situated in the forests of the Nankun Shan Mountain Reserve in the Guangdong Province, the reserve was established in 1984 with the objective to protect the subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest.

The ecolodge was built as a collaboration between specialists in bamboo, architecture and landscaping from around the world: planners and Landscape Architects (USA) - EDSA, Inc.; Bamboo Architect (Columbia) - Simon Velez; Feng Shui Master (China) - Michael Chiang; Architect (Australia) - Paul Pholeros. The Crosswaters Ecolodge is the largest project in the world to use bamboo in a commercial project, and the first of this scale in Asia to use bamboo as a structural element.

The feng shui analysis of the master plan (far left) helped to harness the ‘chi’ of the site. The entry bamboo bridge is located on the feng shui 3 degrees of north–south axis and the main buildings are all symmetrical to this axis. The bridge was designed by Colombian architect Simon Velez and is one of only three such bridges in the world. The body of the bridge is made of bamboo poles with 12cm dia.

All Images and draw-ings by EDSA and

Hitesh Mehta, available online: http://www.asla.

org/2010awards/370.html

ECOLODGE, CHINA

BRIDGES 71

The Matina Bamboo Footbridge in Davao City links the three communities of Barangay. Construction began in November 2010, the arched bridge having a span of 23m.

Inspired by the works of prominent bamboo architects Jorg Stamm and Simon Velez, Architect Andrea Fitrianto came up with the arched bridge design. He travelled to Indonesia to consult with Jorg Stamm about the design of the bridge and how the bridge could resist being swept away by floods.

The concrete slab on the bridge (bottom right) improves resistance against lateral forces, helping the bridge to withstand extreme conditions. Once the concrete was laid the deflection of the bridge was minimised enough to resist a large flood which destroyed part of the village.

The top left images illustrates the Vertical injection Method where each bamboo joint is hollowed out (except for the bottom knuckle) and then filled with a borax and boric acid solution. This method minimised the volume of solution needed to treat the poles.

Community Architect Andrea Fitrianto currently works at the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights.(ACHR). He Studied architecture at the Universitas Katolik Parahyangan (Indonesia) 1999 and did his Masters at the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), 2008 Rotterdam.

Images and information from Pole by Pole: The Matina Cross-

ing Communities and Bamboo Footbridge Story by the Phillipine Alliance Mindanao. Dan Jezreel

Oren Orendain & Atty Jason (Eds). Photographs by Andrea Fitrianto.

COMMUNITY BRIDGE PROJECT - INDONESIA

BRIDGES 73

Shigeru Ban was born in 1957 in Tokyo. He studied at the Southern California Institute of Architecture and later moved to Cooper Union’s School of Architecture, graduating in 1984.

Early on, Ban was attracted to low-cost, low-tech and recyclable materials like paper and cardboard. In his work, he combines sustainability and low waste measures with humanitarianism and has designed various refugee shelters around the world.

Located in the scenic location of southern France near Nimes, the Paper Bridge was right in the vicinity of Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct, structurally its opposite: heavy and durable.

“It is a very interesting contrast, the Roman stone bridge and the paper bridge. Paper too can be permanent, can be strong and lasting. We need to get rid of prejudices.” Says Ban.

Weighing 7.5 tons, this bridge was built with the help of university students. Built using 281 x 4” cardboard tubes. The steps are made with recycled paper and plastic. The foundations were built using wooden boxes packed with sand. Balloons filled with 1.5 tons of water was placed on the bridge to test its resistance.The tube structure is interesting when looking at systems for bamboo.

Portrait image from: design-boom.com; other images

sourced from Jodidio, P. (ed). (2010). Shigeru Ban: complete

works 1985-2010. Cologne: Taschen. pp 420-423

PAPER BRIDGE, FRANCE

BRIDGES 75

All images from Rocca, A. (2007). Natural Architecture. New

Yourk: Princeton Architectural Press. pp 174-183.

Portrait image from: http://www.build4asia.com/C/www.build4a-

sia.com/P/24.html

Edward Ng, professor of architecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, arranged to build a permanent bridge for the village of Maosi, in northwestern China. The 80-metre bridge was built in 7 days in July 2005 by a group of volunteers consisting of 50 people from Hong Kong, 20 students and many inhabitants of the village.

A study of seasonal flooding showed that a bridge raised five feet would remain above the water level for ninety-five percent of the time. Ng engaged English structural engineer Tony Hunt to design a structure that could be flooded, remaining underwater, and then emerge intact.

The project was devised around economy, portability and buildability. Previously this river was bridged annually, as the seasonal floods swept away a lightweight structure every year. Through the use of gabion structure this cycle was broken. The bridge was anchored and also permeable to distribute the water pressure. The gabion blocks are then linked with bamboo platforms.

GABION COMMUNITY PROJECT

BRIDGES 77

Illustration from Manual de Construccion con Bambu, National University of Colombia; above

photo of gabion retaining wall taken at Garie Beach, south of Sydney on a Cave Urban Field

Trip March 2012.

Facing page: image of gabion bridge made from timber and bamboo in Nepal, available online:

http://tectonicablog.com/?p=29507

Gabion is an extremely adaptable and resourceful building system that works well in river conditions. Gabion baskets have advantages over solid footings because of their modularity, ability to be stacked in various shapes, absorption of ground movement, resistance to being washed away by moving water, dissipation of energy from flowing water, and ability to drain. Their strength and effectiveness may increase with time in some cases, as silt and vegetation fill the interstitial voids and reinforce the structure.

The life-span of the gabion structure depends on the integrity of the basket surrounding it, and the effect of the water and other factors on the material, be it steel or bamboo. In the case of the bridge over the Mukti Khola river that joins the Budhi Gandaki (in Arughat Bazar, in Nepal) the pylons of the bridge are made of stones wrapped in bamboo to keep them stable. The bamboo structure acts as a basket containing the existing boulders from the river. This system allows for the stones to be used as they are found around the river.

TRADITIONAL GABION BRIDGE

BRIDGES 79

Photographs sourced online: http://tectonicablog.com/?p=28901; illustra-tion from Manual de Construccion con

Bambu, National University of Colombia

The hanging bridges over the Siyum River in Arunachal Pradesh, India span up to 200m across torrential mountain streams using nothing but bamboo and cane. The bridges are constructed by weaving thin walled bamboo and cane.

The tubular suspension bridge “Hleiri” illustrated on the left has been used since ancient times by the “Laker” tribe in India. It was constructed with braced green bamboo hoops which were distributed and tied to bamboo strip cables to form a bridge.

SUSPENSION BRIDGE - INDIA

BRIDGES 81

Photographs available online: mekongdeltatour.org/

Above illustration from Oscar Hidalgo Lopez, Manual de Construccion con Bambu, National University of Colombia. Left: Suspension

bridbe in Kapuas, Borneo available online: flickrhivemind.net/Tags/

bamboobridge/Interesting

The bridges featured are supported by “Bamboo-cables” and are typically found in Colombia and Indonesia. This kind of bridge can be built between two points located at different heights.

Below: Humpbacked bridge in Tierradentro, Cauca, Colombia - one of the few instances

in which bamboo is subject to traction stress. Photograph available online: construccion427012.blogspot.com/

Plan and section of the bridge (right) by Oscar Hidalgo Lopez (Manual de Construccion con

Bambu, National University of Colombia).

Far right: Bamboo bridge in Telaga Sunyi Outbound Camp in Baturaden, Banyumas,

Central Java, Indonesia, available online: ruang17.wordpress.com/page/5/

Top images: ‘Monkey bridges’ (cau khi) are found haphazardly spanning the Mekong Delta (Laos). A-frame footbridges usually built of uneven logs about 30cm to 80cm wide with only a simple bamboo railing. They are suspended anywhere from 2m to 10m above the canals and connect tiny villages throughout the region to main roads.

MONKEY BRIDGES IN THE MEKONGTENSION BRIDGES80

WATER 83

Pictured above is a low bridge built in Indonesia to span a river in a nature reserve on Moyo Island. The bridge is made using roughly sawn locally sourced branches lashed together with vines. The branches are joined like a raft, supported at intervals by a frame lodged in the river bed, which extends into a rail. More branches are angled diagonally into the river bed to brace the sides.

The bridge to the right spans a natural pool at the Bambu Indah Hotel (See p 62). It is made entirely with bamboo; Three thick lengths of bamboo spanning the stream with an arched truss woven walkway over the top. The bridge is designed as a portable element so that it can be moved during floods or moved when new pathways are required, rocks are used to anchor the bridge in place.

The vortex shown in the photograph on the facing page is a system under developemnt at the Green School in Bali to harness hydro-energy from the fast flowing Ayung River which runs through the site.This environmentally friendly technology developed by Frank Zotela is in its early stages of development.

Right: photograph from the Cave Urban field trip to Indonesia, September 2011.

Above: photograph from Cave Urban field trip to Vietnam in June 2011 depicts a bridge made with

timber branches on Moyo Island.Opposite: photograph by Esther Au Yong, image

available online: http://ourtravelations.com/page/2/

INDONESIAN WATERWAYS

WATER 85

Facing page: Bamboo fish trap constructed by the Tukano people from the Mandi region on the river Vaupes, Colombia. The trap is lain flat in the water and tilted up to catch fish.

The “Alor” fish traps, or “Bubu” traps are made from strips of bamboo and raffia and are 2 metres long and 1.5 metres in diameter.

Such traps are usually placed in coral reefs at a depth of approximately 5 metres. Each basket is shaped like a bulb or large amphora.

Left: the central tube is visible through the outer layer of the Bubu. Far left: Bubu traps from the Philippines

Images sourced from the National Library of

Australia.

Facing page: Image from Villegas, M. (2003).

Guadua: Arquitectura y Diseno. Bogota: Villegas

Editores. p 15.

TRADITIONAL FISHTRAPS

WATER 87

The Bagang (pictured opposite and on next spread) is a traditional bamboo fishing platform found primarily in the Sulu Sea, in the Philippines around the group of islands called Calamianes. A small shed is usually placed at the top to store nets and fishing tools. The net is weighted to send it deep into the sea and it is later raised within the structure to collect the fish. These structures are primarily used for catching anchovies.

Running through Laos is the Mekong River, which flows over the fragmented topography of the southern mountains creating intense waterfalls and rapids. The Siamese mud carp is a species that tries to swim up the river at the Khong falls, near Si Phan Don south of Laos. Where the fish jump to get further up the river the natives have placed bamboo catchments to collect them in their fall (pictured on this page).

The structure, similar to a slide, is supported on the riverbed or on rocks. The lower part sinks into the river due to the increased water level while the top placed well above the water level emerges steeply. The goal is to catch the fish while they jump - the traps are visited daily.

The native communities of southern Mekong are virtually self-sufficient. Their fishing strategies have been refined over the years, and with simplicity they have achieved great results. A traditional Laotian saying is: “if you want to eat fish, make a fire, put a pot to heat and the fish will jump from the river to the pot”.

All images available online: http://tectonica-

blog.com

FISHING IN THE MEKONG

BAMBOO STRUCTURES 89

Images on left and facing page from: http://tectonica-blog.com/?p=3402; above:

Vitra Design Museum. (2000). Grow Your Own

House: Simon Velez and bamboo architecture. p 192.

In the middle the of central highlands of Myanmar lies Inle Lake. Pictured left is the Inle basket, a plunge-method fish trap made of bamboo. It is covered with a net of fine mesh that tangles the fish until the fisherman drops the basket. The woven house, pictured above left is the vernacular architecture of Lake Inle. Strips of split bamboo are woven to create the facade, leaving small gaps so that the building can breathe, improving natural cooling.

The tea-house (above) was designed by Arata Isozaki. The walls are made by weaving bamboo strips and the fence structure below by digging the ends of supple split green bamboo into the ground.

This tobacco drying factory, in Tutul, Balung (East Java), is built entirely out of bamboo. They have a panel system that can be moved around to control the airflow and create a large-scale passive temperature control system.

These factories have a very dense bamboo structure, helping to support the roof and to hang the leaves of tobacco in the drying process. Similar to scaffolding, scale is no object to these long spans.

TOBACCO FACTORYWOVEN BAMBOO88


Given their size and complexity, scaffolds are one of the most spectacular applications for bamboo. Not only is it used in low-rise buildings, but also in great temples and colossal skyscrapers both in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Its use is deeply rooted among local builders who have optimised the construction of bamboo scaffolds over generations. The combination of resistance and flexibility has made it possible for this material to achieve extraordinary lightness and stability.

Left image available online: http://www.vulgare.net/2008/12/bamboo-scaffold-

ing-cambodia/Centre and right images available from: http://thetravellingtrini.com/2012/10/23/

bamboo-boys/

Facing page: all images available online: http://tectonicablog.com/?p=29996

Twin brothers Mike and Doug Starn (born in New Jersey in 1961) installed in the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. The hollow bamboo framework featured a spiralling and undulating trail, which lead visitors to an expansive lounge 50 feet above the Grand Canal. It was built with more than 3000 bamboo poles.

Mike Starn states, “It is a sculpture, but not a static sculpture. It’s something that exists through the presence of the people inside it… We are constructing an ongoing tower – growth and change remain invariable, and they are a constant”.

Top left image available at http://www.plataformaarquitectura.cl.

Bottom left and right im-ages available at http://www.

designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/15033/mike-doug-starn-big-

bambu-at-the-venice-biennale.html.

Portrait photograph available online: wirtzgallery.com

BAMBOO SCAFFOLDING90 BAMBOO ART


Above image from: www.designartnews.com;

other images from www.flicker.com/4215616473_

b32c041722_o Article from: http://www.designboom.com

BAMBOO SHELTER92 WOVEN ART

Eko Prawoto is an Indonesian architect and educator who combines contemporary and vernacular design. By using locally sourced and often recycled materials, his designs are environmentally sound, low cost and earthquake safe.

Wormhole was created for the 2013 Singapore Biennale. The oculus of each structure connects the ground and sky, reflecting the Indonesian belief that mountains are the axis between earth and heaven.

Bottom row: community learning centre in Ujung Alang Cilacap photos sourced online: http://www.spatialagency.net/database/eko.prawoto. Top Row: Wormhole images by mad FOTOgraphy from https://www.flickr.com

Beijing based studio Pei Zhu designed and built the “urban oasis” pavilion for the Shenzhen and Hong Kong bi-city Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism in collaboration with ARUP engineers.

Their approach to the project was to concentrate on simple local materials and natural forms. Bamboo is woven tightly together in a huge spiral shell. As the shell curves upwards the pavilion becomes an amphitheatre for impromptu events and gatherings, at its narrowest it becomes a place for intimate discussion.


Wang Wen-chih was born in the high mountain Chiayi County in Taiwan. His work has been exhibited at the 49th Venice Bienniale; the 2013 Setouchi Triennale, Japan and the 2007 Prague Quadrennial. The “Light of Shodoshima” pictured left was part of the Setouchi International Art Festival, 2013. The bamboo structure experiments with different techniques of weaving. “Dragon Lair Dares Tiger Lair” Above is composed of a bridge and 50-foot bamboo tower. He describes his process as a borrowing of ancient forms, bringing forth a longing for notions of the primitive and creating as a way of being inside nature. The facing page shows his latest work in Taiwan using cane.

All images on facing page courtesy of Wang Wen-Chih. This page images of The Light of Shodoshima by Cave Urban.

WOVEN ART94

Beyond the Site II is a site-specific work for the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. Made of bamboo and rattan, the work features Wang Wen-Chih’s “prototype of space” - the tortuous channels connecting the main space which is like a vessel. The work in the museum is organic, offering the viewer a spiritual journey, that enters a pacifying space surrounded by the warm but yet firm power from nature.

Beyond the site II is made from rattan and bamboo Images featured on this page are courtesy of the artist,

WOVEN ART


In late 2013 Wang Wen-Chih and his core team wove a bamboo installation at the entrance to the Amphitheatre with local volunteers and Cave Urban.

Clockwise from top left: The installation made from woven split bamboo and timber posts by day; at night; as a model; view of oculus from inside; plan view (google maps) and the overall view of the site. Facing page: view from inside one of the 3 tunnels. All images by Cave Urban.

WOVEN ART


Marco Casagrande is a Finnish architect, environmental artist, architectural theorist, writer and professor of architecture. He graduated from Helsinki University of Technology department of architecture in 2001. Casagrande’s works and teaching move freely between art, architecture, urban and environmental design. His is a broad vision of the built human environment tied into social drama and environmental awareness. “There is no other reality than nature.”

The Bug Dome was originally developed for the 2009 Shenzhen Hong Kong Biennale by the Taiwanese architecture group WEAK!; The 3000 square metres of wasteland that formed a ruined building site was transformed into the “Bug Dome”. The 120 square metre woven dome was constructed using bamboo, wood, gravel and WEAK! Concrete; a mixture of cement and soil found on site.

Any additional materials used were taken from the project’s immediate area and will most likely end up there again when the dome is disassembled. Overall, the project had a very ecologically sensitive impact on the surrounding site. During the Biennale the bamboo dome was primarily used as an event space. The pictures to the left compare his communal fire pit surrounded by stones with the remains of a circular stone wall in Australia.

Above left image of remains of a circular stone wall located on

High Cliffy Island off the north west Kimberley Coast: plate 14

Gunyah,Goondie and Wurley, photograph by Sue O’Conner.

in 1987. Cicada sketch (directly left) from http://www.arthitec-

tural.com/marco-casagrande-cicada/cicada_site_sketch_

marco-casagrande/. Facing page image from: http://

www.landezine.com/index.php/2012/01/cicada-by-marco-

casagrande/Other images on this spread available online: http://bug-

domephotos.blogspot.com.au/.

WOVEN ART


This page features earlier work by Marco Casagrande and Sami Rintala. It captures the burning of the installation “Land(e)scape” in Savonlinna, Finland, 1999. It is a comment on the desertion process of the Finnish countryside. Three of these abandoned barns were driven, the architects explained, “to the point where they have had to break their primeval union with the soil. Desolate, they have risen on their shanks and are swaying towards the cities of the south.”

The work was selected to the Venice Biennale 2000. Land(e)scape, launching the international career of Casagrande & Rintala. The artwork was set on fire by the artists in October 1999.

Facing page (left): Cave Urban Photomontage of Turning-Burning Tower proposal for the fire event at the Woodford Folk Festival. Photomontage by Juan Pablo Pinto, concept for Woodford Tower 2012 design by Nici Long and Juan Pablo Pinto.

Also on the facing page is the Scholzberg Tower (far right), which was designed by students in collaboration with Mach Honza, devising a simple spiral plan where the rotation of the circular spiral staircase was written into the rectangular space so that it slightly protruded through the flat edges of the encasing rectangular walls. What emerged was like a spinning ladder.

This page: Images available online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Marco_Casagrande

Facing page: Left image by Juan Pablo Pinto, right images available online: inhabitat.com/giant-timber-tower.../e-mrak-scholzberg-tower5/

CAVE URBAN PROPOSAL - BURNING TURNING TOWERBURNING BARNS100


Cave Urban’s mobile bakery for Ludmilla and Igor Ivanovic “Iggy’s Bakery” at the Woodford Folk Festival 2011-2014.

Constructed on a 2x6m trailer with a cage of recycled copper louvres (pictured top left) around the oven and a bamboo frame and cladding, the bakery was oriented to serve from the end of the trailer with a camp kitchen tarp and extendable bamboo ridge beam that packs down flat for transporta-tion. Side compartments slide out with sink, proofer and mixer for operation.

Bottom left: Sourdough bread. Left: diagram of

opened and closed bakery. Above: drawings by Juan

Pablo Pinto. Opposite: bakery open - 100

loaves were baked each day.)

MOBILE BAMBOO BAKERY


“Cardboard Cathedral” by Shigeru Ban Architects located in Christchurch, New Zealand. Designed as a replacement structure for the Christchurch cathedral after the earthquake in early 2011 it has a functional lifespan of 15 years and is able to be erected by unskilled labour.

The A-frame design is quickly erected made up of cardboard tubes and polycarbonate resting upon foundations fabricated from twenty foot long shipping containers. The interior volume serves as an event space capable of holding 700 individuals.

Images and information from: http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/16110/

shigeru-ban-architects-cardboard-cathedral.html

EMERGENCY PAPER CHURCH - CHRISTCHURCH


Daihai Fei, a Chinese student, built this sustainable “egg-house” on a bamboo frame, covered with various insulating materials. The inner cabin is insulated with bamboo mats that help maintain heat and keep the house waterproof. The exterior is topped with a layer of stitched bags filled with sawdust and grass seeds, which he sprays with water regularly, to help the grass grow faster. Inspired by the grass-covered roofs of Norway this also increases thermal mass and insulation.

The interior is made from bamboo boards fastened with nails and contains a metre-wide bed, book shelf, a water tank for a small wash basin and a lamp powered by a small solar panel. His egg house is now located across the street from his work, so commute is a 30 second walk.

The Lombok International Bamboo Architecture Festival, also known as the Bamboo Olympics, was first held in December

2013. It took place on the Indonesian island of Lombok, where 22 teams from around the world gathered on Senggigi beach to

build their artworks which were judged by Budi Pradono, Christoph Tönges and the architect Eko Prawoto. Winning teams included

Suklu (Bali); Elena Goray (Amsterdam); Universitas Indonesia Parahyangan; Lombok Eco Developments PT; Wira Adiputra (New

Zealand); DVK Asia (Vietnam).

Images featured on this spread available online via https://www.facebook.com/lombokbamboofestival

Images and text from: http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/chinese-

student-lives-in-tiny-green-egg-house.html; http://www.odditycentral.com/news/chinese-

student-builds-sustainable-egg-house.html

MOBILE STUDENT HOUSEBAMBOO OLYMPICS IN LOMBOK, INDONESIA106


In 2013, 1+1>2 International Architecture Company partnered with Action for the City to create a Vegetable Nursery Home made from

bamboo and 2,000+ plastic bottles in the Soc Son district of Hanoi.

Apart from its function as a greenhouse, the structure is also a place for farmers to rest, and an interactive educational facility for

children to learn about growing food. The bottles act as cladding to the bamboo structure, and help to regulate sunlight and control the temperature within the nursery. Due to the lightweight nature of the

structure it can easily be relocated to serve a new community.

Images by 1+1>2 International Architecture JSC, all images sourced online at http://www.archdaily.com/484661/vegetable-nursery-house-1-1-2-international-architecture-jsc/

BAMBOO AND RECYCLED PLASTIC BOTTLE PORTABLE NURSERY

LIVING STRUCTURES 111

Linda Garland is an Irish designer who has lived in Bali since the 1970s. In 1990 she founded the Environmental Bamboo Foundation which is a non-profit organization that aims to protect tropical forests by promoting and demonstrating the conservation and development opportu-nities that bamboo offers.

In less than three years EBF has helped put bamboo on the conservation and development agenda of Indonesia whilst generating an international interest in bamboo. The EBF has a focus upon international development, through consulting and education, preservation research, agro-forestry projects, watershed reclamation, plantation development and policy development. The EBF works in concert with the International Bamboo Foundation, the Zeri Foundation and an international network of bamboo associations, scientists, universities and governments.

Facing page: Top: Panchoran Retreat design by Linda Garland (now sold). Right: Traditional houses from the village on Moyo Island, Indonesia.

Photography from Cave Urban field trip to Bali - 18th June, 2011

LIVING LODGE BALI110 LIVING LODGE JAVA

The Telaga Sunyi Outbound Camp is tucked away in the jungle region of Baturaden, Banyumas, Central

Java, Indonesia.

Above images are of the Telaga Sunyi Outbound Camp in Baturaden, Banyumas, Central Java, Indonesia,

Images are available online via: ruang17.wordpress.com/page/5/

LIVING STRUCTURES 113

This page: Marcel Kalberer - the main source of inspiration for Marcel Kalberer’s living domes is the Mudhif: “The very ancient technique of construction with reed regularly utilised in Mesopotamia for over 5000 years” (p 66 Alessandro Rocca - Natural Architecture).

The Solar Tree is a Cave Urban concept designed by Nici Long + Dave Goldie in June 2011.

Bamboo solar forest is comprised of glass laminated photo-voltaic panels connected with bamboo scaffolding to create shade structures that also harvest solar energy.

The project is based on the concept of bio-mimicry, where the panels are behaving like leaves, harvesting energy from the sun and producing shade.

Model by Dave Goldie.

Images from Rocca, A. (2007). Natural Architecture.

New Yourk: Princeton Architectural Press. pp

174-183

SOLAR TREE PROTOTYPE FOR SOLAR FORESTLIVING SCULPTURE112

CONTACT 115

BOOKS

Alessandro Rocca - Natural ArchitectureMarcelo Villegas - Guadua: Arquitectura y DisenoVitra Design Museum - Grow Your Own HouseDavid Suzuki - The AutobiographyPaul Memmott - Gunyah Goondie and WurleyPhilip Jodidio - Shigeru Ban: Complete Works 1985-2010Enrico Guidoni - Primitive ArchitectureWilliam McDonough & Michael Braungart - Cradle to CradleUniversity of Stuttgart, director Frei Otto - IL 31 Bambus - BambuOscar Hidalgo Lopez - Gift of the GodsJoe Earle - New BambooGunter Pauli - The Blue EconomyVictor Cusack - Bamboo World

BLOGS

International Network for Bamboo and Rattan - inbar.intTree Hugger - treehugger.comTectonica: architecture, technology and construction - tectonicablog.com (spanish)Design Boom: design, architecture, art, photography and graphics - designboom.comMarco Cassagrande - http://marcocasagrande.fi/International Network for Bamboo and Rattan - www.inbar.intDesert Domes - desertdomes.com24H homepage - www.24h-architecture.comVo Trong Nghia homepage - www.votrongnghia.comConstruction with Bamboo - www.conbam.infoAdvanced Bamboo applications - www.bambus-conbam.deGeneration Bambou - www.generation-bambou.org (french)Jörg Stamm - www.ecobamboo.netBamboo Database - www.bamboodb.comBamboo Database - www.versteegde.nlFaculty of Architecture RWTH http://bambus.rwth-aachen.deGiant Grass - www.giantgrassdesign.comIbuku, green school builders - ibuku.comEnvironmental bamboo foundation - www.bamboocentral.orgAmercian Bamboo Society - bamboo.org

CONTACT CAVE URBAN

Make friends with us on facebook “Cave Urban”

(Sydney, Australia)Email us at [email protected]

Office number +61 2 9363 5952

CAVE URBAN TEAM (Ages 1 to 81)

Gayl RichHoney LongAlice NivisonKevin Nixon

Angel HerediaJuan Pablo Pinto

Jed LongElizabeth Criner

Delphi CrinerClifton Kennard

Ned LongLachlan Brown

Igor IvanovicKate Ratner

Ludmilla IvanovicJuan Fabrellas

Nici LongDave Goldie

REFERENCES114 CAVE URBAN TEAM

BAMBOO APPENDIX 117

NOTES AND PROPERTIES OF BAMBOO SPECIES

name Phyllostachys Bambu-soides Marliacea

Phyllostachys Aurea

Phyllostachys Bambu-soides Mazelli

Phyllostachys Pubescens

Phyllostachys Sulphurea

Violascens Semiarundinarea Fastuosa

Phyllostachys Aurea Hollochrysa

height 3-5m (Japan up to 8m) 3-5m (China 12m) 22m 4-8m (Japan 20m) 4-7m (China 20m) 4-7m (China 12m) 8-10m 3-5m (Japan 9m)

stem green, yellowish stripes, pronounced ridges, 4cm dia

green, shining in the sun, oblique nodes, 3cm dia

green, yellow with age, up to 15cm dia

yellow, green, older stocks wider green stripes in the culm

golden yellow, fine green stripes, 6cm dia

green to reddish brown (violet) 5cm dia

start green then age to a burgundy colour, 4cm dia

shoots are green, then bright yellow discol-ouration, 3cm dia

leaves green, up to 12 cm green, small green, up to 12 cm small, dense, green light green, medium, dense foliage

dark green, medium green, large green, small

growth upright, slightly over-hanging, low foothills, clump from 4m2

upright, dense, bushy foothills, clump from 6m2

upright, slightly over-hanging, low foothills, clump from 4m2

upright, head bent, foothills, clump from 5m2

upright, pendent, foot-hills, clump from 5m2

upright, head droop-ing, foothills, clump from 8m2

upright, lush foliage only at the top, clump from 2m2

upright, opaque, bushy foothills initially, clump from 6m2

hardi-ness

-14 °/-18 ° found in warm and mild areas

-16 °/-20 ° found in warm areas

-14 °/-18 ° found in warm and mild areas

-12 ° to -18 ° warm and mild winter areas

-15 ° to -20 °, likes a warm climate

-16 ° to -22 °. In normal winters, very hardy.

-15 ° to -20 °, likes a warm climate

-12 ° to -18 ° winter protection needed

Top right: The culm tissue with vascular bundles and fibre sheaths, Oxytenanthera abyssinica. The composition of vascular bundles determines the appearance of the bamboo at a microscopic level.

Right: Fibres of a 1-year and a 12-year-old (bottom right) culm, Phyllostachys viridiglaucescens. (Black and white photographs from: Walter Liese, Prof. Dr. (2003). Structures of a Bamboo Culm Affecting its Utilization. Inbar PR 13.)

Above: Diagram of the structure and cross sections of a bone from http://homepage.mac.com/myers/misc/bonefiles/bonestruct.html

Left: cross sectional balustrade at The Green School, Bali

Top left: cross section of a bamboo culm. (Top left image and facing page image from: Vitra Design Museum. (2000). Grow Your Own House: Simon Velez and bamboo architecture. Wel am Rhein: Vitra Design Museum.)

MATERIALITY

BAMBOO APPENDIX 119

0

50,000

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250,000

Bamboo Steel

Embodied energy, Primary production in

KJ/m3 (material)

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6000

8000

10000

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Bamboo Steel

CO2 Footprint, Primary Production in kg

(CO2)/m3 (material)

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35

strength (stress[N/mm2]/[mass/volume])

stiffness (e-modulus[MN/m2]/[mass/volume])

Strength and Stiffness ratios comparing building materials

concrete

steel

wood

bamboo

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strength (stress[N/mm2]/[mass/volume])

stiffness (e-modulus[MN/m2]/[mass/volume])

Strength and Stiffness ratios comparing building materials

concrete

steel

wood

bamboo

Strength and Stiffness ratios comparing building materials:

Index of the annual environmental costs of the different elements of a bamboo bridge:

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1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500

Index of the annual environmental costs of the different elements of the bamboo bridge in the Amsterdamse Bos.

(alternative with lowest value = 100)

steel

wood (azobe)

wood (robinia)

bamboo

concrete

0 500

1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500

Index of the annual environmental costs of the different elements of the bamboo bridge in the Amsterdamse Bos.

(alternative with lowest value = 100)

steel

wood (azobe)

wood (robinia)

bamboo

concrete beam column rail transversal beam

STRUCTURAL SOUNDNESS AND SUSTAINABILITYEMBODIED ENERGY118

BAMBOO APPENDIX 121PRODUCTION PROCESS

BAMBOO WORKSHOPS 123

The Bambooroo Workshop in Thailand, November 2011. Nici, Lachy, Juan Pablo and Jed.

Above: Nici in the bamboo tunnel (pieces were kept upright to prevent them from rotting). Top right: Bambooroo people splitting and weaving the bamboo. Bottom right: Bamboo treatment using the horizontal immersion technique.

Facing page, bottom left: the founder of Bambooroo Mark Emery, a graduate in Landscape Architecture from the University of New South Wales [bambooroo.net]. Other images depict the construction process of fish-belly beams, designed by Mark Emery and Andrea Fitrianto and built by the October 2011 Bambooroo workshop participants.

All images on this spread from Cave Urban field trip to Thailand November 2011

FISH BELLY TRUSS BRIDGEBAMBOOROO WORKSHOP THAILAND122


These photographs depict construction of a bamboo hammock made from a single bamboo pole.

Jim Mahoney runs workshops in Australia exploring a variety of uses for bamboo, using green bamboo to create hammocks, simple trusses, cylindrical sculptures and small shelters.

The workshop was held on 2/4/2011 in Moorland, NSW by Jim Mahoney (phone: +614 (0)2 65563098, email: [email protected]).

This experiment into the materiality of bamboo and hessian was created by Georgia Wilson and Alice Nivison in 2009.

Cube, wall and corner elements were all built at a 1:1 scale. The elements were made after many tests where the bamboo was cut at angles to explore its var-ied section. Threads of hessian were used to fix the bamboo pieces together.

Bamboo was not used in a traditional framing way but cut into short sections and stacked as a ‘brick’ to exploit its hollow section. Bands of hessian wrapped the wall pieces, which were suspended from a bamboo frame (right).

The images were sourced from the Bamboo Society of Australia website

(http://bamboo.org.au/community/index.php?view=details&id=14&optio

n=com_eventlist&Itemid=62)

The images were taken by Aice Nivison and

Georgia Wilson, 2009

HAMMOCK FROM SINGLE BAMBOO POLEEXPERIMENTING WITH BAMBOO124


In September of 2013, Cave Urban members Juan Pablo, Jed and Ned attended a Canya Viva workshop in Terra Alta, Portugal. The work consisted of constructing a small house from cane (canya) harvested

from the surrounding area and rendered in earth and straw.

The workshop taught the creation of bundle beams and demonstrated Canya Viva’s meticulous technique for categorising the various sizes

of the canya in order to achieve bundle beams of regular sizes.

Over a period of three weeks we were able to create a home, moving from harvest to construction to render. This demonstrated the ease of construction utilizing unskilled labour and materials readily available.

Image on facing page shows the construction of the roof structure, courtesy of Canya Viva. This page clockwise from top left: view of the earth render being applied to the cane; view from inside the house; view of the structure before the earth render; view of house from inside with earth render. All images on this page by Cave Urban.

CANYA VIVA WORKSHOP IN PORTUGAL


The Julia Creek Bridge (named after Julia Gillard) is designed to develop environmental protocol for infrastructure for the

Woodford Folk Festival site, using local materials on site to form a noninvasive + organic solution.

The solid timber logs, milled out of fallen trees from the site act as a strong foundation for the temporal bamboo structure. The bamboo sculpture was designed and built by Georges Cuvillier

from Belgium and Ronnie Sammut from Victoria, who use a bamboo and rope rigging / lashing system. This dynamic and

accessible connection method allows the structure to be erected and dismantled quickly, without damaging the bamboo poles

Image on facing page shows the bridge at night, courtesy of Woodford Folk Festival, This page clockwise from top left: view of bamboo bridge entrance; Detail of the bamboo and rope connection system; Festival Director Bill Hauritz and Prime Minister Julia Gillard at the bridge opening(images this page by Cave Urban)

BAMBOO BRIDGE AT WOODFORD FOLK FESTIVAL


Mengenang (Memory), a wind driven sound installation made with bamboo, feathers, macadamia nuts and felt. The bamboo resonators are tuned to a D minor to create a commemorative sound forest. The original installation of Mengenang (Memory)

was created to commemorate the Bali bombings that occurred in 2002 and 2005. The 222 victims were represented by 222

bamboo resonators, tuned to D minor to create a sound forest on the headland. Mengenang was awarded winner of the “People’s

Choice” and “Mayor’s Prize”awards, 16th annual exhibition “Sculpture by the Sea Bondi 2012”

Photographs this page and opposite by Ujin Lee for Cave Urban; Plan photograph from Google Earth; Sectional drawing by Cave Urban

MENGENANG AT SCULPTURE BY THE SEA, BONDI 2012


Mengenang (Memory) at Cottelsoe Beach was the 2nd installation of the sculpture, adapted to the surrounding sand

landscape through the form of an inverted dome.

Mengenang was awarded winner of the “People Choice’s Prize” at the 9th annual exhibition “Sculpture by the Sea

Cottesloe 2013” Perth - Australia

Colckwise from above: Mengenang at Cottesloe during the day; captured through the west-coast sunset; Mengenang at the

Botanical gardens; sectional drawings by Cave Urban; Plan views of the Botanical Gardens and Cottesloe (from Google Earth). All

photographs by Cave Urban.

The third installation was for the 13th annual exhibition of “Artisans in the Gardens”,. Adapted to an aquatic environment, the sculpture creates reflections and resonance against the pond’s surface.

Clockwise from top left: View of the sculpture with the CBD skyline; Poles meeting the pond surface; Detail of the sculpture; google earth plan of site; elevation of the overall form. Photographs by Ujin Lee for Cave Urban, drawing by Cave Urban

OPERA AUSTRALIA, BOTANICAL GARDENS, MARCH-APRIL 2014

In April 2014 Cave Urban was comissioned to design the otudoor garden bar and other bamboo elements for Madama Butterfly - an opera written by Puccini set in Japan.

The garden featured a Japanese style bamboo portal frame spanning a low bridge, surrounded by bamboo seating and lanterns

Clockwise from top left: View of firefly lantern with the the Oprea House; view of prtal fram in garden; view of portal frame entrance; bamboo bike designed by Hao Dang (Grass Co.); bamboo forest stage set.Facing page: Overall view of the garden. All images by Cave Urban.

MENGENANG - COTTESLOE (MARCH 2013) BOTANICAL GARDENS (OCTOBER 2013)132

cave urban folio #1 - bamboo and lightweight structures

Documents

bamboo structures

aboriginal peoples

aboriginal man

bamboo building design

bamboo appendix

bamboo workshops

northeast queensland

university of queensland