bloom pavilion interweaves bamboo rods on sai van lake in macau

undergraduate architecture students at the university of st joseph in macau have designed and built the ‘bloom pavilion’, which overlooks the sai van lake. the temporary structure situated on the pier is constructed from split bamboo rods and volumetric fabric panels, comprising three woven basket ‘trunks’ that merge into an overhead canopy. the tallest of the trunks emerges out from the lake, while the other two are fixed directly onto the walkway. visitors may weave their way around the masses, and enter inside one of them, where they would find piles of sandbags forming a circular seating unit within the small space. at night, a computer-controlled LED lighting system wraps the trunks, synchronized with a sound installation from hidden speakers. cumulatively, these elements create an ambiguous spatial experience that merges land, water, and sky.

the bamboo bloom merges land, water, and sky

the students designed bloom pavilion over one semester, moving back and forth between digital and physical models, and full-scale prototypes. after sourcing materials, they underwent a training session with local bamboo workers and spent one week assembling it on site. by applying advanced parametric software techniques to vernacular construction methods and materials, the pavilion is intended as a reinterpretation of the local building culture and simultaneously a response to the iconic architectural forms and dynamic lighting effects that define macau’s contemporary visual identity. 

the three structures pictured from above

trunk and volumetric stretch fabric detail

the bamboo rods frame the sky once inside

within one of the pavilion strictures

sandbag seating inside one of the trunks

integrated LED lighting effect from entry

 
bloom illuminated at night

LED lighting effect illuminates the sky in vibrant color

project info:

design: third-year undergraduate architecture students from the university of st joseph (ao un i, jackie chao, choi man tak, eloa defly, im chon kit, claire alexis may s. jurado, kam u leng, lei wai kuan, ma choi peng, ma ka u, ng ka wai, david spilka, yana stepanenko, tam ian kan, sophia yuen) led by guest professors jason dembski and joão palla.
sound installation: joão cordeiro and álvaro barbosa
dates: 24 may–7 june 2014.
support: macau foundation and traxon technologies

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.

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