Shaping Beauty

img.0 All images © Luca Poian Forms.

Italian studio Luca Poian Forms recently shared images of ‘Camboo’, a pavilion proposal for the Building Trust’s 2017 international Bamboo Festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Made almost entirely out of bamboo, the pavilion integrates deeply rooted construction methods and local culture while exploring the structural and mechanical possibilities of bamboo. The result is a visually stunning construction that marries structure and design, not leaving a single component arbitrary or in excess. The form takes on the mathematical enneper surface, with a composite rim joist of individual bamboo planks continually bends forming the outer shell. At the center, three beams oriented towards each axis maintain the outer structure intact due to its high capacity in tensile strength, effectively creating an almost structurally-neutral lightweight construction that has eliminated any shear forces acting upon it. Evenly spaced purlins easily bend to the waving surface and support shorter sections of split bamboo that make up the roof assembly- an homage to traditional construction methods utilized in the country for centuries. 
img.1 The sinuous structure is made possible due to the material properties of bamboo.
img.2 The structure only touches the base in four points, sufficiently supporting itself.
img.3 All images © Luca Poian Forms.
img.4 Using local materials and construction methods, traditional iconography can be reinterpreted through contemporary design tools.
img.5 The roof plan exhibits the geometric nature of the pavilion.
img.6 Although a complex form, the pavilion can be easily built in sections and fit together.

For further information visit designboom.