TOP 10 bamboo designs of 2013

TOP 10 bamboo designs of 2013
image © ally taylor

this year, bamboo made a huge impact in design, art and architecture, spanning a number of disciplines, locations, and functions. from a children’s activity center in thailand made entirely from the raw material — from its roof to its interior staircases — to a set of 10 bespoke stationary objects crafted from the robust medium, bamboo’s historical, traditional context has been reappropriated in the contemporary design scene. take a look at 2013’s most popular articles on designbooom about bamboo, below:

panyaden school by 24H architecture, thailand

‘panyaden school’ by 24h architecture, chiang mai, thailand
image © ally taylor

the ‘panyaden school‘ is located in the lush forests of chiang mai in northern thailand. it educates its multicultural students through a fusion of buddhist principles and ecological sensitivity. designed by dutch practice 24H architecture, the campus seems to be built under a group of enormous fallen leaves, made of natural locally sourced materials and labor that create an all around sustainable and comfortable low-impact facility. plentifully available bamboo rods of varying sizes are used for columns and  make up the entire roof structure with a playful interweaving of structurally sound geometries anchored into large rock foundations in the ground.

low cost bamboo housing in vietnam by H&P architects

vietnamese low cost housing by H&P architects
six member family

developed by vietnamese H&P architects, the low-cost housing project is situated in a flood-stricken region that receives extreme temperatures year-round. meeting the basic needs of a residential dwelling, the building has been assembled using minimal components and bamboo module units. secured using anchors, ties and solid connections, the structure will be strong enough to float in floods. built with local materials such as bamboo, leaves and recycled oil containers, the concept combines traditional architectural characteristics to distinguish the exterior fabric.

slowwork, teastyle bamboo collection by jeff da-yu shi of dragonfly

slowwork, teastyle by jeff da-yu shi: the tea ceremony setting

designer jeff da-yu shi of dragonfly design center has exhibited ‘slowwork, teastyle’ at domus tiandi showroom during beijing design week, a collection which integrates sustainability, craftsmanship, culture and innovation. traditional chinese designs are reinterpreted with contemporary details, constructions, and in a refreshed presentation. at the core of dragonfly design center’s creative approach is the harmonious coexistence of practicality and aesthetics, creating pieces that surmount the sake of decoration and instead value the performance in their build. the attitude is evident in almost every facet of the series, illustrated through sophisticated characteristics that exceed the common confines of the bamboo medium.

24H architecture: children’s activity and learning center, thailand

the interior is an open plan under an umbrella-like canopy
image © kiattipong panchee

olav bruin with dutch practice 24H-architecture has created the ‘children’s activity and learning center’, part of the six senses’ soneva kiri resort on the island of koh koodin the gulf of thailand. as the most striking in the series of ecologically-charged icons designed for the resort, the center is a locally-sourced and labored bamboo structure designed to provide a place young people to play, eat, learn, discover, and share all while being infused with an environmentally friendly and local message.

michael verhaeren’s sustainable + compact bamboo bicycle 

image courtesy of michael verhaeren

informed by the sustainable properties of bamboo, the bikes made by belgium industrial designer michael verhaeren are based on buckminster fuller’s geodesic domes. incorporating the properties of the medium as much as possible — instead of steel or aluminum — the two-wheeled cruisers are an ecologically-friendly alternative to the norm; the majority of existing bamboo bicycle frames are constructed using carbon or organic fibers, reinforced with epoxy connections in order to bind the bamboo parts together.

dutch design only presents sustainably woven bamboo chair 

image courtesy of alex levarek

utilizing traditional asian plaiting techniques, ‘the bamboo chair’ by dutch designers tejo remy and rené veenhuizen is made solely from weaving eco-friendly wood. the lightweight piece is also extremely durable, constructed using 24 cm by 10 cm strips that are bent into semi-circles to form the main base. resembling a tub chair, typical of deck chairs on passenger ships, the project combines traditional dutch design with ancient construction techniques to make a comfortable ans sustainable product.

eko prawoto pitches wormhole with conical bamboo structures

wormhole, 2013
bamboo installation, dimensions variable
artist collection, singapore biennale 2013 commission, image courtesy of the artist

indonesian architect eko prawoto’s ‘wormhole’ punctuates singapore’s cityscape by pitching three conical bamboo structures on the lawn of the national museum of singapore. the immersive installation beckons viewers inside its mysterious interior, which is only visible through a small slit along its side that peels open like a page of a book. thematically, the passage of time is reflected within through artistic details: moving clouds can be seen through circular apertures at the cone’s crown and the distinctive smell and texture of bamboo recall a bygone time when the material was widely used. ‘wormhole’ is a part of the singapore biennale 2013 until february 16th, 2014.

hangzhou bent bamboo stool by min chen

‘hangzhou bent bamboo stool’ by min chen

consisting of 16 layers of thin bamboo veneer, chinese designer min chen has developed ‘the hangzhou stool’. measuring 0.9mm in thickness, the bamboo sections are bent into an arc shape and glued together at each end. the more weight the stool receives, the deeper the arc, providing more elasticity to the user.

bamboo furniture by taiwanese studio scope design

‘three generations in one stool’
designer: tsai & fanchiang, mao-hui chen
material: benihi driftwood, chinaberry, formosan china fir

scope design studio of taiwan develops furniture that reinterprets traditional asian craft techniques. using natural materials — primarily bamboo — they create functional objects which emphasize the skills of taiwanese craftsmen who handmake each design, exploring and redefining means of manufacturing, customization and commercialization of furniture. 

bamboo stationery set by yu jian

image courtesy of yu jian

designer yu jian has developed a set of ten stationary objects called ’empty bamboo’. each item takes a hollowed bamboo stem of varying diameter as its body. the natural material is combined with metal parts which speak to the function of each piece, resulting in a family of aesthetically beautiful and functional devices, from a pencil case to a tape dispenser, USB hub to a desk clock.