shigeki yamamoto composes intricate cabinet from japanese bamboo and german oak

japanese designer, shigeki yamamoto, presents his latest furniture piece that continues from his ‘PLAY CABINET’ series of 2017. dubbed ‘PLAY BAMBOO CABINET’, this latest creation once again references childhood memories of playing with building blocks, but this time focuses on using bamboo as the primary material.

all images courtesy of shigeki yamamoto

the berlin-based designer decided to use bamboo when he was travelling through the countryside of his native japan. once yamamoto finished the oak parts of the two cabinets in his berlin workshop, he went to japan, where he found the perfect bamboo for the furniture concept in a town called awa in kochi prefecture. this small town is home to a unique type of bamboo, that was given the name ‚tiger-bamboo‘ (taketora) because of it’s distinctive color pattern.

PLAY BAMBOO CABINET – small

using bamboo posed new challenges to yamamoto. for example he had to adapt his drilling technique, so that the bamboo wouldn’t crack. gradually, after becoming familiar with the material, the designer was able to feel if a piece would crack under pressure, even before drilling. 

PLAY BAMBOO CABINET – small&large

the resulting two cabinets, composed of oak and bamboo, not only symbolize yamamoto’s japanese and german influences, but also highlight the unique beauty of oak and bamboo by putting them in direct contrast side by side. the design offers a unique-looking furniture piece, appearing to have grown naturally from single elements into a complex yet harmonious structure, representing our inherent creative instinct and the building block we played with as children. 

PLAY BAMBOO CABINET – side view

PLAY BAMBOO CABINET – small

PLAY BAMBOO CABINET – door

PLAY BAMBOO CABINET – side detail

PLAY BAMBOO CABINET – large

PLAY BAMBOO CABINET – large

PLAY BAMBOO CABINET – door

project info:

project name: play bamboo cabinet

design: shigeki yamamoto

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: lynne myers | designboom