Beautiful Bamboo Symphony Promotes Building With Natural Materials

Bamboo Symphony is an office building in Bangalore, India that promotes the use of more natural building materials - especially bamboo. The open-air structure is built of mud blocks made on site with materials from the ground, and a concrete shell roof over a lattice grid of bamboo provides shade and thermal mass. Recently completed at the end of 2010, Bamboo Symphony attempts to use bamboo in place of steel or wood and even reduces the weight of the concrete by adding bamboo fibers into the mix. The architectural office was designed and built by Bangalore-based <a href="http://www.manasaramarchitects.com/bamboo-ma-office.html" target="_blank">Mansaram Architects</a>, and was shortlisted for the 2011 World Architecture Festival.

The curvilinear building extensively makes use of locally sourced, recycled, and natural building materials like bamboo, fly ash, recycled wood, scraps metal, and stone.

Built surrounding the Lotus Pond, the 2,260 sq ft office provides space for conference rooms, private office, a computer room, reception, a bathroom and a kitchenette.

Bamboo-crete precast wall panels are used for the walling system, while mud blocks form the back wall and foundation.

Bamboo posts and beams along with a lattice grid support the shell roof, which includes bamboo fibre to reduce the overall weight of the material.

The floors are made from bamboo and leftover stone pieces from a building nearby.

Rainwater is collected from the entire site and directed into the Lotus Pond, which supplies the building with all of its water and recycles and filters grey water before returning it to the ground.

A 1.6 kW solar system supplies the office with all of its electricity making this a totally net zero development, although it is grid tied for as a backup.

During the day, ambient daylight provides 100% of the office's lighting needs and natural ventilation and thermal mass are used to keep the space cool.

<a href="http://www.manasaramarchitects.com/home.html" target="_blank">Manasaram Architects</a> specialize in bamboo buildings and seek to promote bamboo as a renewable, sustainable and strong building material.

Their office building was recently shortlisted for the <a href="http://www.worldarchitecturefestival.com/shortlist_detail.cfm?projectCategoryId=64&amp;eventYear=2011" target="_blank">2011 World Architecture Festival under office buildings</a>.

Bamboo Symphony floor plan.

Bamboo Symphony elevations.

Bamboo Symphony elevations.