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In hot and muggy urban Taiwan there's two important things you need in a house - air conditioning and security. London-based ROEWU architecture came up with a clever green solution for a family home in eastern Taiwan that involves a beautiful bamboo screen wrap. The screen is a more aesthetically pleasing version of the steel security bars found on most homes, and it allows windows to be open to aid natural ventilation. The Bamboo Forest House makes such good use of natural lighting and ventilation that the need for air conditioning is completely eliminated.

 

The family home is located on a tight and long narrow plot bordered on three sides by houses with shared walls — the only free opening is towards the street. In order to bring more daylight and fresh air into the three-story home, ROEWU designed the project as a series of volumes with gaps and voids. Sunlight shines in and bounces off walls and into all of the rooms, while the floorplan includes several double and triple-height void spaces that allow air to move up and out of the house, eliminating the need for air conditioning, which is a major consumer of electricity in Taiwan.

The three-story home contains six bedrooms, with dining, living and kitchen space on the ground floor and open air living spaces on upper floors. In the winter, when the weather is cooler, the family spends their time singing in the karaoke lounge and bathing in the spa on the second floor. In the summer, the family can enjoy the rooftop deck with a variably-patterned sun-shade system surrounded by bamboo that invites cooling breezes.

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