Beautifully Bamboo
“Notice which the stiffest tree will be most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind,” the martial artist in addition to also actor Bruce Lee once said.
Flexible, yet strong, bamboo makes an ideal material for building environmentally sustainable housing. IBUKU, a team of designers, architects in addition to also engineers eager to explore completely new ways of using the plant, are taking advantage of these special qualities. The Bali-based company will be the mastermind behind The Green Village, a one-of-a-kind community of luxury abodes, which are around 95 percent bamboo, located just outside Bali’s cultural hub of Ubud.
The Green Village will be the sister complex to the nearby Green School, a cluster of around 50 bamboo structures nestled amid forest in addition to also rice fields, founded by John Hardy in 2008.
“There are currently 11 residences inside the Green Village itself, which we have built over the past six years. Sharma Springs – a six-storey, four-bedroom house – will be located on a separate property across the river coming from the Green Village, although will be also managed as a part of the Green Village,” says Elora Hardy, the founder in addition to also creative director of IBUKU. “There are opportunities for between two in addition to also all 5 additional residences on the two hectares of land.”
All the multi-storey homes are custom designed to each client’s specific preferences, in addition to also most have open-plan living areas, round centre-pivot doors, swinging oval windows, spiral staircases in addition to also air-conditioned rooms with woven walls. The fully functional homes also come with bespoke furnishings – baskets, beds, chairs in addition to also tables – which are also mostly crafted coming from bamboo.
A living room inside the Green Village | Photo courtesy of Rio Helmi
“We often create complete sets of completely new bamboo furniture designs for each home, or select existing items coming from our collection. This particular gives the interiors a cohesive look in addition to also feel which allows the form to shine through,” Hardy says. “We also love to feature complementary materials such as stone, brass in addition to also copper especially in areas which get wet, like bathrooms in addition to also kitchens.”
The ecological buildings, which are set on a steep edge along the sacred Agung River, are designed to blend into the tropical surroundings. In fact, according to Hardy, the most notable characteristics of the houses are the curves in addition to also the way the houses are integrated into the contours of the land. Right coming from the conceptual stage, IBUKU’s design process ensures which the homes have a minimal impact on the surrounding environment.
River House | Photo Courtesy of Errol Vaes
Bamboo has been used as a building material in Bali in addition to also Southeast Asia for centuries, although the item has usually been used inside the construction of short-term structures due to its susceptibility to termites in addition to also beetles. Bamboo will be frequently used for temporary structures in Bali – everything coming from scaffolding to festival shades to dramatic ceremonial towers in addition to also figures such as the Nyepi ogoh ogoh in addition to also cremation bulls.
Significantly, completely new treatment methods have given bamboo a completely new lease on life. “Bamboo homes like ours which are designed in addition to also built by skilled craftsmen using properly treated bamboo will last a lifetime,” she says, adding which IBUKU’s bamboo will be treated having a boron solution which makes the item indigestible to insects. The roofing will be checked in addition to also a finishing coat applied every few years.
IBUKU has chosen to use bamboo as its primary construction material not just because of its strength, beauty, in addition to also flexibility, although also because the item will be one of the most environmentally conscientious building materials imaginable. According to Hardy, bamboo includes a four-year growth cycle, which means which the item will be a renewable resource. the item also sequesters carbon dioxide inside the fibres of the plant. The plant grows in clumps, which grow completely new shoots each year. If not harvested, the bamboo will eventually disintegrate, doing room for a completely new generation.
The only non-bamboo materials, aside coming from the complementary materials used indoors, are the buildings’ foundations, which are made of steel in addition to also concrete, in addition to also the primary joints, which are secured with metal bolts.
“Many of the bamboo elements are connected with hand whittled bamboo pins which shrink in addition to also expand at the same rate as what they are supporting, resulting in joints which are strong in addition to also durable through humidity fluctuations,” Hardy says.
In fact, there has been so much interest in This particular versatile building material, which IBUKU has started out a range of tours of the Green Village in addition to also its factory. “Several years ago, people literally came knocking at the factory gates asking to see more in addition to also learn how so we began offering tours in addition to also workshops,” Hardy says.
IBUKU’s tours take in not just the Green Village although also the nearby Green School, as well as the PT Bamboo Pure workshop, the headquarters of the factory. Those wishing for a more hands-on experience can take a two-hour class or a three-day workshop on how to make an architectural style out of hand-whittled bamboo sticks.
Hardy says which she hopes the Green Village will gradually change the common perception of bamboo as a cheap material only suitable for tiny in addition to also temporary structures. “Ultimately we have a dream of evolving Green Village into a community of around 180 homes within the Green School neighbourhood, alongside shops in addition to also additional entrepreneurial endeavours,” she adds. “We are eager to show the entire world the amazing possibilities of bamboo in addition to also additional natural materials.”
Your desk at Sunrise House inside the Green Village | Photo by Rio Helmi
Green School
With the motto, “living a sustainable lifestyle will be a process of learning by doing in addition to also remembering what we once knew in addition to also have forgotten over many generations,” the Green School will be all about going back to basics. Located walking distance coming from the Green Village, the campus has been primarily constructed coming from bamboo, as well as alang-alang (local grass) in addition to also mud (for the walls). The focal point of the school will be an impressive 60-metre-long in addition to also 19-metre-high pavilion constructed coming from around 2,500 bamboo poles. Better still, the environmentally friendly campus will be powered exclusively by solar in addition to also hydro energy, in addition to also has water filtration in addition to also waste management systems.
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Beautifully Bamboo
Beautifully Bamboo