The villagers of Ginkgo Valley decided to take advantage of their beautiful running creek to start rafting business. A rafting center is then planned at the head of the creek to facilitate the basic needs of rafting. Budget is their primary concern. Ginkgo Valley is a traditional village and zoned as preserved scenic area a decade ago. So the attitude toward the environment is as important and needs to be addressed.
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Fish Pavilion of Bamboo Shadow
Sustainable Architecture (Built)
Firm
CAA (China Academy of Art)
Architect/Designer
Min Zhuo
Design Team
Sangshuang Liu
Location
Changxing，Huzhou, China
Country
China
Photographer/Copyright
©Hao Xu, Sangshuang Liu, Min Zhuo
Bamboo, which is widely grown in this preserved scenic area, is used as major construction material to be woven into a huge pavilion for this project. The pavilion is shaped into a gigantic abstract and metaphoric “fish”, curling around and heading toward the creek, bearing a good meaning of prosperity.
Bamboo’s light weight and mechanical property of excellent bending performance, make regular column-beam system neither a good structural match, nor an aesthetic one. A bamboo-strip envelope is adopted in this project, acting like a tensile membrane structure. With 9 meter high and almost 50 meter long, it is yet a big challenge to pin down and weave bamboo slats into a “bamboo membrane” with such big scale. Vertically tilted bamboo trusses with different curves and sizes, which we call “bamboo bows”, are calculated by parametric software and set every two meters as a frame to support and adjust the shape of the curved surface of the bamboo strip mesh.
With local bamboo weaving craft reinterpreted as technology of architectural envelope, this bamboo pavilion establishes its connection with the nature. It is very hot and humid in the summer in this valley. This bamboo pavilion provides excellent shelter against sunshine without losing brightness. With both ends open, the tunnel like interior space generated by the fish shape of the pavilion allows superior natural ventilation without any additional air conditioning equipment. With birds flying in and out during construction, the openness of this pavilion also proves it to be a bird friendly space in this valley. With sunlight filtering through bamboo slats, this pavilion makes a peaceful space for rafters in the scenic valley.
Local farmers are skilled in weaving bamboo baskets and other bamboo crafts. With on-site mock-up to demonstrate the unique bamboo structure of this project, a group of local farmers with experience of bamboo craftsmanship were hired to work as weaving specialists for this project.
By the usage of bamboo, the villagers are happy to see the cost of construction and future maintenance well under budget, as well as some work opportunities kept local. What is more important is that local bamboo craft is passed down in a more practical way through this experimental project, in regard of preservation of this intangible cultural heritage.