Bali’s ‘Green School’ is Built Entirely With Bamboo

Though bamboo scaffolding is a thousand-year-old technique, it still seems to defy reason – looking precariously scaled around a tall building. But to this day, bamboo scaffolding remains a common construction methodology in parts of Asia because of its tensile strength (greater than steel), its light weight, affordability and obvious environmental benefits.

But bamboo offers a lot more than just construction platforms. Spiritually, bamboo has been known to symbolise longevity due to its inherent resilience, durability and flexibility, and its these exact properties that make bamboo a superb building material. These articulated ‘bones’ are kept in place by ‘muscle’ and ‘skin’, as in the bamboo gridshell.

The Arc at Green School Bali, Indonesia and its use of bamboo, is an astonishing achievement in ecological architecture and sustainability. Designed by IBUKU in conjunction with Jörg Stamm and Atelier One, The Arc offers a new benchmark, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in bamboo architecture and structural engineering.

The Arc is an alluring visual statement, its curvature in contrast to the vertically lush landscape of tropical Bali. Its crisscrossed bamboo bundles provide the framework for a series of interconnected parabolic arcs that take cues from a human ribcage. These articulated ‘bones’ are kept in place by ‘muscle’ and ‘skin’, as in the bamboo gridshell. Materially speaking, this dynamic structure is responsive to the elements, flexing and redistributing its weight under the load of wind and other weather events.

The structure is also testament to Green School’s world-renowned excellence in sustainability education and a celebration of their innovative appreciation for our natural environment. The holistic learning community was conceived by entrepreneurs John and Cynthia Hardy with the ambition to establish a living curriculum and education for progressive sustainability.

With additional campuses in South Africa, New Zealand and Mexico, Green School invites the collaborative expertise of a global network of architects, academics, philosophers, permaculturists and master craftspeople to deliver an education designed for the future.