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Design

‘Bamboo Contemporary’ Spotlights 14 Designs Advancing Sustainable Architecture Around the World

Six times stronger than steel and using an estimated 50 times less energy to produce, bamboo is at the forefront of sustainable architecture. The durable material is central to recent projects like a latticed welcome center in Vietnam and this swelling canopy offering respite from the elements of the Karst Mountains, two constructions that accentuate the plant’s organic shape and sturdy qualities.

A new book published by Princeton Architectural Press highlights fourteen homes around the world built with the perennial grass. Written by author and architectural historian William Richards, Bamboo Contemporary explores a vast array of styles and techniques, ranging from sleek remodels with the material to the lavish home in Bali fabricated by the firm behind this spiraling school. “In design circles, bamboo has been heralded as the material of the future—a pliable solution for architects seeking sustainable methods and materials. For many architects and builders along the equatorial band, bamboo’s past is just as rich. It’s both new and nothing new at the same time,” Richards writes in the introduction.

Containing structural renderings and photos for each project, the 256-page volume is an insightful and forward-looking consideration of the architects working toward a more environmentally conscious future. Explore more by picking up a copy of Bamboo Contemporary from Princeton Architectural Press.

 

Design

A House of Crimson Steel Vines Harbors Memory and Mourning in Wuhan Shimenfeng Memorial Park

Rambling, weathered ivy constructs the walls of a home placed among the quiet, serene cemetery of Wuhan Shimenfeng Memorial Park. The project of designer Hu Quanchun of Field Conforming Studio, “The Vanished House” elicits the act of remembering in a public space devoted to mourning and memories. Tension between the enduring and transitory pervades the architectural work, shown through the combination of the sturdy material and open roof that appears to fade around the perimeter.

In a statement about the memorializing project, the studio likens the structure to that of a child’s sketch, explaining that the simple design draws attention to the sprawling vegetal forms laser cut from sheets of Corten steel. Over time, the crimson material will age with rain and sun, and its rusted color will stand in starker contrast to the green environment.

For more from Field Conforming Studio, including a similar vine-based project installed at Delong Steel Art Park in Leting, Tangshan, visit its site. (via designboom)

 

Design

A Minimal Window-Laden Facade in Paris Sprouts a Luxuriant Vertical Garden

Hidden under a lush canopy of vegetation on Paris’s Left Bank is a minimal, mesh-like structure housing a healthcare center, restaurant, and hotel. The project of the French-Brazilian Triptyque Architecture in collaboration with the Coloco landscaping studio, “Villa M” is a mixed-used building cloaked in a vertical garden that ascends from the sidewalk to the rooftop bar. Foliage and vines trail down from the hotel room balconies and sprout from planters embedded in the facade, establishing a verdant environment spanning 8,000 square meters in the middle of the busy Montparnasse.

In addition to the urban ecosystem, dozens of windows allow for natural lighting throughout the space. “We have explored all of the available surfaces to potentialise the greenery and to avoid energy and carbon waste,” architect Guillaume Sibaud told Plain Magazine. “Villa M” was also named the Building of the Year 2022 by ArchDaily.

For more of Triptyque’s environmentally conscious designs, visit its site and Instagram.

 

Photography

Foliage and Moss Renew Abandoned Sites Around the Globe with Verdant Signs of Life

Spanning an open-air Taiwanese warehouse to a Cuban theater teeming with vibrant leaves, the sites that Jonathan Jimenez visits are relics of the industries and cultural institutions of the past. The French photographer, who works as Jonk (previously), has cultivated a practice centered on documenting abandoned structures around the globe, many of which have been cloaked in mosses, lush foliage, and even jungle-like vegetation.

In his most recent collection, Jonk visits 35 locations in 25 countries and captures the crumbling roofs, peeling facades, and rusted trains in their midst. He compiles the series in his seventh book titled Urbex Monde, which pairs the largely architectural photos with notes, histories of the sites, and anecdotes from his encounters in a consideration of nature’s enduring ability to reclaim what humans have left behind.

The new volume is available from Arthaud—note that the text is written in French—and you can follow Jonk’s future travels on Instagram.

 

Design

42,000 Bamboo Shoots Construct an Illuminated, Latticed Welcome Center in Vietnam

A glowing welcome center of interlaced bamboo stands at the entrance of the resort Grand World Phu Quoc in Vietnam. One of many designs by Vo Trong Nghia Architects that utilizes the ubiquitous material, the facility is comprised of arches, domes, and angular grids built from 42,000 culms, or hollow shoots. The open facade and embedded skylights allow light to stream through the building, helping to illuminate a 1,460-square-meter footprint, with visitors entering through an interior shaped like a lotus and bronze drum. “The light comes in beautifully and, along with the natural colour of bamboo, creates a warm and intimate atmosphere, even though the structure is very open in terms of airflow,” the studio shared with dezeen.

For more of Vo Trong Nghia’s architectural projects, visit the studio’s site and Instagram.

 

Photography

The Remains of 100 Abandoned Italian Churches Peek Through Rubble and Foliage in Roman Robroek’s Photos

Whether cloaked in thick moss and debris or almost entirely preserved, the abandoned churches photographed by Roman Robroek document the effects of a changing landscape. At least 1,000 of the religious spaces are left unoccupied in both small towns and cities throughout Italy and stand in varying degrees of disrepair. In visiting approximately 100 chapels for his series CHIESA, Robroek witnessed how the once-sacred structures have been left behind. “If a church, once the most important haven in the community, can become a pile of ruins, what does that say about what we hold certain today?” he asks in an essay.

Robroek’s photos, which will be accompanied by drone footage by Sven van der Wal slated for release later this year, capture the beauty of disrepair: foliage grows from the rubble of a collapsed ceiling, a heavy layer of dust covers humble, wooden pews, and gilded trim and elaborately designed altars remain in pristine condition. The Netherlands-based photographer has broadly considered why a growing number of Italy’s churches, of which there are at least 20,000 throughout the country, are deserted. His reasonings include natural disasters, the long-standing effects of war, and cultural shifts. “Admittedly, it might seem incredible that such stunning, artful churches are in this state of decay, but it all connects to the same issues…the lack of community and the economic desolation of an area that has long past its prime,” he says.

Next month, Robroek will be traveling to Thailand to photograph abandoned structures, and you can follow his findings on Instagram. Until then, pick up a print in his shop, and check out his book Oblivian, which catalogs ten years of his practice and is available on Bookshop. (via Peta Pixel)