Bamboo Villa: Live in the Nature

Longmen, Guangdong, China – C&C DESIGN CO., LTD. Built Area:     1248.0 m2 Year Built:     2013 The Bamboo Villa sits hidden within the Nakun Mountains. It is surrounded by a lush forest with a delicate stream nearby. The design focuses on the use of bamboo as the principal material. The architects avoided using concrete […]

House 01 – Award Winning Sustainability

Santa Catarina, Brazil – ES Arquitetura Project Year: 2017 Developed Area: 1,421.49 m2 (15,352.09 ft2) Photographs: SLAphotostudio Nestled between nature and a residential area, the owners wanted this house to offer privacy and climatic comfort while promoting a low environmental impact. The plan includes multiple internal and external courtyards and decks. These allow privacy while […]

Crosswaters Ecolodge

Guangdong Province, S. China – Hitesh Mehta Design Project Year :    2003 Area              :    2,500 hectares In the heart of China’s Nankum Mountain Reserve stands Crosswaters, an ecolodge and wellness center. With 53 rooms, this is a stunning retreat meant for peace and quiet. The ecolodge has […]

One with the birds

One with the Birds by Penda Design House

Badaling  China  –  Penda Design House Concept only Badaling is a forested mountain area about 100 kilometres from Beijing. It is one of the main sites for viewing and walking The Great Wall. Entries were invited in a competition to design an eco-hotel in one of China’s most successful, but ecologically sensitive, destinations – The […]

Forest for a Moon Dazzler

Guanacaste, Costa Rica  –  Ben Gracia Saxe Built:    2010 Bamboo is an extraordinarily versatile material.  It’s strong, flexible, lightweight, totally renewable and, potentially very long lasting even when in ground.  The home shown here uses bamboo in both conventional and very unconventional ways.  It’s a home ideally suited to it’s hot, humid locale – open and […]

Great Wall Bamboo House

Kengo Kuma's Great Wall House

Commune by the Great Wall  Near Biejing  China  –  Kengo Kuma and Associates Year built:     2002 Built area:     529 m2  (5,713 sq. ft.) The Bamboo Wall House was completed in 2002 as part of a multi-dwelling project near Beijing. Requirements were to use local materials and conform to the topography. The […]

Bamboo Brilliance – Wind and Water Cafe

 Vietnam – Vo Trong Nghia Vietnam has a long tradition of bamboo construction. When local architects, Vo Trong Nghia were briefed to design a bar come meeting place, bamboo seemed a natural candidate. The Water and Wind Café in the southern province of Binh Duong subsequently won Nghia the 2007 International Architecture Award (IAA).  Since then […]

The Green Village

The Green Village

Bali, Indonesia – PT Bambu Built area: 18,700 m2 (201,285 sq. ft) Year built: 2010 Photography: Courtesy of Bambu Indah Collection The infinite joy of bamboo Some time back we showed you the magnificent Green School of Bali.  Using totally sustainable materials and practices, Elora Hardy and her team built, what must surely be, every child’s […]

Gather – smaller but larger

Gather - Katsuhiro Miyamoto and Associates

Osaka-City  Japan  –   Katsuhiro Miyamoto and Associates Site area:    120.34 m2  (1,300 sq. ft.) Building envelope:     72.08 m2  (778 sq. ft.) Total built area:     135 m2  (1,458 sq. ft.) Year built:     2009 This Osaka home presented some unique challenges.  Firstly, it contravened the allowable site ratio for the […]

The Yoga Pavilion at Four Seasons

The Yoga Pavilion by IBUKU

Sayan, Bali, Indonesia – IBUKU Client: Four Seasons Completed: April 2015 Area: 60.0 m2 If yoga is your ‘thing’, we may have found your Nirvana. You can find this marvelous yoga pavilion called Dharma Shanti Yoga Bale in a beautiful valley in Sayan, Bali, Indonesia. Built using only locally grown bamboo and with a roof resembling a leaf, the […]