Bamboo buildings: The incredible qualities of bamboo

Overlooked for most of the 20th century in favor of concrete and steel, bamboo is now making a comeback! And it's not just in everyday things or bamboo garden furniture. Bamboo is becoming more and more a part of  modern buildings. Modern architects, open to the idea of ​​utilizing bamboo's lightness and flexibility, are beginning to include the material in their designs.

 Here at North by North we have long recognized the many qualities of bamboo and the benefits of using it to make our high quality garden furniture. We are proud to be enthusiastic advocates for bamboo as a beautiful, but strong and sustainable material.

Today we want to share some of the amazing bamboo architectural structures that we have discovered. Here are 4 of the best bamboo structures listed by architecture site Dezeen.com.

Bamboo Sports Hall, Panyaden International School (Chaing Mai, Thailand)

 The first structure perfectly illustrates the endless possibilities of working with bamboo. The architects created a curved bamboo structure consisting of an intricately curved roof created with prefabricated bamboo rafters which were secured with rope instead of steel. This bamboo structure is completely carbon neutral, in fact the architect Chiangmai Life Architects and Construction claims that the building absorbs more CO2 than was emitted during the construction process.

Hardelot Theater (Calais, France)

Another structure that absolutely deserves attention is the Hardelot Theater in Calais. The building is completely surrounded by 12 meter high natural bamboo poles. This creates a cage-like exterior as well as a beautiful pattern emanating from its roof. You simply cannot walk past this structure without looking at it. Performing - or watching a performance in this theater is already an experience. At North by North, we're sure that if this theater wasn't made of bamboo, it wouldn't have been so special.

Vedana Restaurant (Vo Trong Nghia, Vietnam)

 This amazing building is not what it seems. The roof appears to be constructed with three thatched circles, but it is actually a single bamboo structure, made of 36 modules. When you enter this restaurant, you are immediately captivated by the design: it would not have been possible to create with concrete and steel. There are thousands of elements that come together to create this roof, reminiscent of a traditional Vietnamese structure. But not only that... the restaurant is located on an artificial lake that allows the water to act as a natural air conditioner, and rainwater flows from the roof into the lake, which is used to water the plants in the resort.

Bamboo Resin (installation at London Design Festival, 2019)

 Last but not least, and perhaps the most important example... This is a bamboo structure with a difference! It was designed specifically as an installation for the London Design Festival in 2019. We have included this natural bamboo structure because it is the perfect example of the flexibility and strength of bamboo. In fact, Kengo Kuma (the designer) has described bamboo as ''the building material of the future''.

 The purpose of the installation is to illustrate how bamboo structures can be the way forward when creating buildings capable of withstanding natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. This means that bamboo is not only sustainable, durable and beautiful, it also means that bamboo is a great material for improving the safety of buildings.

 At North by North we are proud advocates of design and construction using natural bamboo material. We understand the possibilities of bamboo, from our own beautiful handmade furniture to majestic modern buildings.We are excited to see what else the future holds when it comes to bamboo

 Meanwhile, every day we are even more inspired to produce our high-quality bamboo outdoor furniture such as bamboo chairs, bamboo tables and bamboo daybeds. All our products are made from natural bamboo and are handmade. In addition, we only offer Danish design furniture.

 For more information on the use of bamboo and our products, visit www.northbynorth.com