The Green School in Bali is known for its finely tuned programme that follows children from early years through to secondary education, infused with a focus on creativity, the arts and ecological responsibility. Founded by John and Cynthia Hardy in 2006 and built around the principles of sustainable architecture, the school is a unique take on education; and now, it can also boast a brand new structure in its midst. The Arc, designed by local design and architecture studio Ibuku, headed by Elora Hardy, has recently been completed, offering a fresh visual shorthand for education architecture and the school's green identity through its pioneering, green bamboo roof.
The project was designed to host a wellness space and gymnasium for the school campus. Whimsical but sturdy, beautifully undulating as well as light and dynamic – almost like the bamboo version of a boat's billowing sails in the wind – the roof is thin and balanced, and feels organic and close to nature. The trick was marrying traditional, age-old techniques for building with bamboo, and new technologies, Hardy, explains.
Bamboo roof is both inspired and eco-friendly
The structure is a feat of engineering, taking bamboo architecture to a whole new level, including bespoke elements and intensely researched building methods. It is created ‘from a series of intersecting 14m-tall bamboo arches spanning 19m, interconnected by anticlastic gridshells that derive their strength from curving in two opposite directions,' the Ibuku team explain. The masterful designs were refined in collaboration with German carpentry specialist Jörg Stamm and structural engineers Atelier One.
‘The Arc operates like the ribs of a mammal's chest, stabilised by tensile membranes analogous to tendons and muscles between ribs. Biologically, these highly tensile microscopic tendons transfer forces from bone to bone. In The Arc, bamboo splits transfer forces from arch to arch,' says Stamm.
Drawing on the local architecture vernacular, as well as organic design, mixed with cutting-edge engineering, The Arc at Green School in Bali is an eco-friendly design, proudly showcasing the power and beauty of nature and geometry.
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