Project Bamboo
Kengo Kuma's 2002 Great (Bamboo) Wall house was part of an effort to construct a series of houses by Asian architects along the Great Wall of China.
What immediately stands out is Kuma's fantastic use of resources to tie the house to its natural surroundings. Kuma's house is constructed of bamboo walls that allow light and air to penetrate the house's skin. Inhabitat sums up the design concept brilliantly . . .
"Kuma varied the spacing and thickness of the bamboo canes creating the walls of the house, each defining a different level of fluidity from one space to the next. Dappled light penetrates between the thin stalks, as though the house were literally built from the forests of Asia."
I love how his tribute to the Great Wall essentially aspires to make its walls transparent, in a sense reacting to the bold, divisive appearance of the Great Wall itself. And his use of bamboo both makes a statement about using natural, renewable resources and looks great amidst the surrounding forest.
This is my first exposure to Kuma's work, but after checking out his firm's site I was impressed by all of his work. His modern reinventions of traditional Japanese forms are interesting and unique, and never fail to be pleasing to the eye as well (which is not always true about most modern architecture!) I might just have to pick this up, and declare Kuma one of my new favorite architects.
Images from Materia Magazine.
Via Inhabitat.
posted by Paul at
1:09 PM
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