From the world’s leading publisher of Architecture and Architectural Practices, comes a look into how VTN Architects have used bamboo to create groundbreaking projects.

With the climate crisis raging and awareness of humanity’s detrimental impact on the environment now patently apparent, the need for architects to come up with sustainable new solution has never been more pressing. A key part of any green approach to architecture is the use of local natural materials with a low environmental impact. Bamboo, which has been widely used in Asian architecture for centuries as scaffolding and for bridges, pavilions, houses and other structures, is an ideal material in this context: lightweight, strong and readily available. In an effort to meet the challengers of the 21st century, VTN Architects has developed new ways of working with two species of bamboo in particular, the flexible Tam Vong and the sturdier Luong, creating a manufacturing workflow that allows for the production of standardised modules, a knitting technique that enables the material to span large distances and environmentally friendly traditional treatments such as mud-soaking and smoking. In Bamboo Architecture, we see how these methods have been applied in award-winning, groundbreaking projects such as the Wind and Water Cafe, Diamond Island Community enter, and the majestic Vedana Restaurant, alongside an illuminating introduction by Masaaki Iwamoto and an interview with the studio principal Vo Trong Nghia who offers an inspiring vision for the future of natural, green architecture.