These towering vertical
bamboo houses caught our eye with their impressive mix of natural and renewable materials with high tech engineering and design. Designed by
Saint Val Architect, Bamboo Housing is an exploration into a new housing typology that breaks out of the box of traditional square homes.
Bamboo poles and metal joints form the frame of the five story home with living quarters accessed by a central spiral staircase. We're intrigued by the concept, which is both primitive looking and high tech.
Bamboo poles are connected together with high tech metal “X” joints to create the exoskeleton of the home. Round platforms serve as the floors, which are accessed by a circular staircase that wraps around a central support member. Wooden slats and glass panels curve up the exterior in a double helix to let in light and encourage ventilation. Finally the whole structure is wrapped in canvas to seal the inside in.
The ground floor serves as the entrance and contains a bathroom and small kitchen and the next three floors are used as bedrooms. Finally the top floor helps distribute heat up and out and serves as extra living space. Saint Val Architect designed the woven vertical residence for Port au Prince, Haiti to aid in the rebuilding efforts with the intention of using local sourced materials. The design was inspired by traditional basket weaving and using natural plant fibers from the local habitat to mold a cocoon shape. While we’re not certain if this is the best fit for Haiti as it is far from their local vernacular, we applaud the concept in general and look forward to seeing one built.
+ Saint Val Architect
Via WAN
Beautiful! Perfect design for a single home on a small wooded-lot, or a cluster near a beach.
While I applaud the out of the box thinking, this is not a design for a Caribbean climate like Haiti’s. 1)There is no way this design will withstand the punishing effects of lots of heavy downpours along with high humidity 2)The effects of wind. This design would not last more than three or four hurricane seasons. Sustainable design=designing for climate. If the design does not work with its climate, it will not last and thus its embodied energy is wasted.
Looks to me as if the designers have done their due diligence and engineered these for hurricanes. Bamboo can be treated for resistance to humidity and bugs. The connectors look to be largely reusable and the materials are all sustainable. Factor in low cost and buildabilty in situ, and these are a much more appropriate for Haiti than a lot of other designs I’ve seen.
bamboo needs to be very well prepared. we built a bamboo octagon home in the phil. and the contractor rushed it so it’s filled with bugs and mold. it’s crumbling in front of our eyes. bamboo needs to be a certain age when cut and best way to preserve is leave in the salt water/ocean for a year. then dry. boric acid and other chemicals are toxic and not green. it’s a long term build, one which i don’t think will work for a refugee place like haiti where they need it immediately.
but the design is great, looks hurricane proof, earthquake proof and tsunami proof. (as long as you’re willing to see the lower floors wiped out leaving the bamboo skeleton standing.)
This is really interesting design. I would like to make contact with the architect , can you provide his website and email address. by Saint Val Architect