atelier REP's bamboo garden rejuvenates the countryside in chengdu, china

situated in a typical countryside nearby the city of chengdu in china, the bamboo garden by architectural practice atelier REP is a rejuvenation project that implements family activities in a dairy farm of a local company. in other words, the community can experience the production process of healthy milk and a closer connection with nature.

traditional methods of bamboo techniques meet people’s needs to return to nature

according to atelier REP, the bamboo garden implants new functions in a typical artificial environment that lacks regional characteristics. such functions include architecture, land, people, natural material, handcrafting and simple values. the bamboo garden reflects an experimentation of contemporary hand-making structures based on an ancient technique; indeed, this plant has been traditionally and widely used to create artifacts thanks to its fast growth, hardiness and ease of processing. 

the entire campus is constructed using natural materials

the site stretches from south to north as a long strip, 133 meters in length and 18-32 meters in width — with existing buildings made up of few bungalows with brick-concrete structures. based on those conditions, the architects have adopted two different approaches: ‘retain, renovate’ and ‘add, implant’. to elaborate, the design maintains normal working and living qualities while the area is revived to include family activities. on the other hand, the existing staff dormitory and guardhouse were kept but four rooms of the dormitory  have been turned into sales room, dining area and restroom for visitors. the external space of the guardhouse has also been renovated with the consideration of existing trees.

fan-shaped entrance  is supported by the sturdy and fast growing bamboo framework

for the ‘add, implant’ strategies, the bamboo garden is planned as four main hubs: entrance, science education, interactive experiences and entertainment. within each, several architectures and relevant cultural elements into have been incorporated. finally, the architectures in each area are defined as following: a fan-shaped entrance; an umbrella-shaped bamboo structure, a music square and undulating bamboo wall; a verandas and bamboo walls; grass storage.

the project is built by adopting two strategies: retain, renovate and add, implant

the verandas located at the interactive experiences area 

the pavilion 

children’s playground 

 
technical plan

 
master plan showing the layout of the four different hubs

project info:

architects: atelier REP
location: chengdu, china

project year: 2015

team member: baoxin yang

structural consultant: keliang han

photography: zs-studio, baoxin yang, jule 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom