BAMBOO CONSTRUCT 2014 AT ART SQUARE, SALISBURY GARDEN, TSIM SHA TSUI

The Pavilion is put together using traditional lashing techniques, and serves as structure and spatial delineator at once

DESIGN CONCEPT

The rigidity of the bamboo is contrasted with the freedom of the design, which reads as three major planes at ground level, body height, and the sky, weaving together the natural and man-made elements of the park. Curved metal pieces protrude at the base to offer a seat to park visitors, who are even encouraged to climb on the sloping surfaces of the structure itself.

Bamboo is an ideal material for poetic expressions. It is flexible and yet strong; it has an evocative power born of familiarity, particularly within the Chinese context; it is a natural product, and yet it behaves predictably; it can be quickly erected and disassembled or left standing permanently. The design of the Pavilion structure effectively unifies the human touch and the influence of nature in a poetic salute to the most basic arts of architecture.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The brief was to create a large-scale interactive piece at the Art Square of Salisbury Garden, Tsim Sha Tsui, as part of an event called “Construction •Transition @ artsquare” organized by Hong Kong Museum of Art, featuring works of contemporary Hong Kong artists and designers. Bamboo Construct 2014, a huge installation that serves as a welcoming greeting to all visitors who enter the Art Square with a skillful use of bamboo combines the beauty of traditional culture and contemporary architecture, exploring the aesthetic and functional properties of bamboo.

SUSTAINABILITY

Bamboo is a robust material adaptable to multiple recycled uses. Its cultivation is fast and replenish-able. It is an environmentally sustainable material. Apart from the above, bamboo is adopted as the principal material for this installation also for its cultural bearings - traditional construction method is used and enlivened to demonstrate social-historical sustainability. Last but not least, after the exhibition is finished and the installation dismantled, all the bamboos will be recycled and re-used for other construction purpose, thus making the installation an economical undertaking with minimum waste-generation as well. As such, the bamboo pavilion fulfils, and is a vivid demonstration of, the three fundamental principles of sustainability – it is environmental, social and economic all-in-one. It is art beyond pure aesthetics.