sustainable bamboo kiosk for bear rescue center in cambodia

following the construction of several built projects in cambodia using natural materials and integrating sustainable architecture, building trust international organized a design and build workshop to be held at phnom tamao wildlife rescue center on the outskirts of phnom penh. working alongside atelierCOLE and free the bears, a kiosk design was created which would educate workshop participants and the park’s 250,000 annual visitors on natural building materials and construction techniques.

bamboo trusses are used to form roof structure

free the bears work to combat the illegal trade in live bears and provide a safe sanctuary for any rescued bears at phnom tamao. they also aim to educate khmer visitors on the benefits of renewable energy strategies such as solar power, harvesting rainwater and bio-gas as alternatives to mainstream energy sources. consequently, it was important to construct an on site ‘show’ kiosk which not only educates visitors on why conservation is so important but also on how to build with natural materials. promoting both new and traditional construction techniques to locals with the aim of them using the skills on their own home design in the future. in order to build the kiosk a group of 10 international participants took part in a 2 week long workshop learning about sustainable design, alongside members of the local community and NGO workers.

truth window revealing the adobe bricks below

the design makes use of natural materials such as bamboo for the roof construction and adobe bricks to create the walls. the kiosk quite literally came from the ground it now sits upon, locally sourced bamboo, clay, sand and scrap metal were collected from the site and re-purposed into the new building.

reclaimed steel from bear den is used with bamboo to create shelving

building trust has developed a set of sustainable toolkits which will be free to download from their website. these toolkits are an educational resource to be referred to when developing natural buildings. ranging from how to build with adobe, to construction with bamboo, it is hoped that these easy to understand toolkits with photos documenting the process will enable anyone to copy the results. building trust are working alongside conservation groups in south east asia, africa and south america to not only deliver alternative/ more sustainable buildings but also to use the building process as a tool to introduce new techniques and revitalize traditional skills.

glass bottle lighting feature

adobe bricks are monitored by a interested spectator

adobe brick detail

kiosk construction is discussed with visitors to the park

kiosk with scale model

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.