Architecture

Penda's Rising Canes Pavilion promotes bamboo-based construction

Penda's Rising Canes Pavilion promotes bamboo-based construction
Penda envisions Rising Canes as a sustainable housing project
Penda envisions Rising Canes as a sustainable housing project
View 19 Images
Penda envisions Rising Canes as a sustainable housing project
1/19
Penda envisions Rising Canes as a sustainable housing project
Some 200 bamboo canes were used in the build, and Penda added buckets of seeds that will eventually grow to cover the pavilion with greenery
2/19
Some 200 bamboo canes were used in the build, and Penda added buckets of seeds that will eventually grow to cover the pavilion with greenery
No screws, nails, or glue were required to make the structure
3/19
No screws, nails, or glue were required to make the structure
The structure was secured using ropes, ensuring it can be relatively easily dismantled and recycled
4/19
The structure was secured using ropes, ensuring it can be relatively easily dismantled and recycled
The structure measures 4.40 m (14.5 ft) wide, and 3.80 m (12.5 ft) high
5/19
The structure measures 4.40 m (14.5 ft) wide, and 3.80 m (12.5 ft) high
Penda says its structural system is a possible solution for housing large numbers of people
6/19
Penda says its structural system is a possible solution for housing large numbers of people
The floor of the structure is elevated slightly off the ground
7/19
The floor of the structure is elevated slightly off the ground
The framework is rather bare at present and obviously unsuitable for living in
8/19
The framework is rather bare at present and obviously unsuitable for living in
Penda added buckets of seeds that will eventually grow to cover the pavilion in greenery
9/19
Penda added buckets of seeds that will eventually grow to cover the pavilion in greenery
The idea has potential, and perhaps could be adapted to serve as a very basic emergency shelter
10/19
The idea has potential, and perhaps could be adapted to serve as a very basic emergency shelter
Bamboo is useful as a building material thanks to its strength, relatively light weight, and the ability to produce it sustainably
11/19
Bamboo is useful as a building material thanks to its strength, relatively light weight, and the ability to produce it sustainably
Architectural render showing the expandability of the system
12/19
Architectural render showing the expandability of the system
Architectural render showing the expandability of the system
13/19
Architectural render showing the expandability of the system
Architectural render imagining what a future development based on the Rising Canes system could look like
14/19
Architectural render imagining what a future development based on the Rising Canes system could look like
Architectural render imagining what a future development based on the Rising Canes system could look like
15/19
Architectural render imagining what a future development based on the Rising Canes system could look like
Architectural render imagining what a future development based on the Rising Canes system could look like
16/19
Architectural render imagining what a future development based on the Rising Canes system could look like
Architectural render imagining what a future development based on the Rising Canes system could look like
17/19
Architectural render imagining what a future development based on the Rising Canes system could look like
Architectural render showing how the buckets of seeds would grow to cover the structure in greenery
18/19
Architectural render showing how the buckets of seeds would grow to cover the structure in greenery
Architectural render showing how the framework is built
19/19
Architectural render showing how the framework is built
View gallery - 19 images

Chinese architecture and design collective Penda reckons bamboo should be a more widespread construction material than it currently is. To promote this view, the firm produced a pavilion, dubbed Rising Canes, for this year's Beijing Design Week. The installation comprises a prototype bamboo framework that Penda envisions as a basis for a modular housing system in the future.

If Rising Canes looks familiar, that may be because it bears a resemblance to Penda's previous one with the birds concept.

No screws, nails, or glue were required for the installation, and it was secured with ropes, thus ensuring it can be relatively easily dismantled and recycled if required. The structure measures 4.40 m (14.5 ft) wide, and 3.80 m (12.5 ft) high, and the floor is raised slightly off the ground. Some 200 bamboo canes were used in the build, and Penda added buckets of seeds that will eventually grow to cover the pavilion with greenery.

Penda added buckets of seeds that will eventually grow to cover the pavilion in greenery
Penda added buckets of seeds that will eventually grow to cover the pavilion in greenery

Penda envisions Rising Canes as a sustainable housing project, and the firm's renders depict an initially modest shelter being expanded into a considerable development housing up to 20,000 people. All of which is perhaps best taken with a pinch of salt for the time being.

Still, Rising Canes does have potential for practical application, and one could imagine it serving as a starting point for a basic emergency shelter, along the same lines as the Temporary Shelter in Nepal, for example.

"The use of natural materials like bamboo in a smart, modular system, gives the structure the freedom to grow in every direction," says Penda. "By adding and connecting new bamboo canes, the structure grows and becomes stronger, able to take on more loads. To ensure a steady building material supply, a neighboring bamboo grove is planted. For each culm of bamboo taken as a construction material, two new trees must be planted to the forest. "

Source: Penda via Arch Daily

View gallery - 19 images
1 comment
1 comment
EddieG
Looks like "Bridge on the River Kwai." You know what happened to that.