You will be bamboozled by this futuristic city…

A new concept has been shooting* up across the web… a structure built entirely of bamboo!

Designed by Penda – co-founded by Chris Precht and Dayong Sun – a Beijing and Vienna-based architecture firm, the bamboo structure provides a glimpse into the future of a low-carbon China.

“Bamboo is an underrated material, especially when it can be used locally,” Precht explains.

Why bamboo?

Not many people know that bamboo can grow up to a foot a day and it can generate up to 35% more oxygen and can absorb the same amount of carbon dioxide than a similar stand of trees.

What’s more, it also regrows automatically and it is three times stronger than a comparable steel beam.

“With a population of 9 billion by 2050, will we still have fresh air to breath or clean water to drink? We need to start thinking about alternatives. Especially in the building industry, as much of the pollution is caused by it.

“This is a city which is built out of materials with the lowest carbon footprint possible,” he says. “A development where all the demands of a building grow locally and nature can blossom the same way as architecture does. A space which is not just built in order to house people, but also a space for nature,” Precht comments.

The gingerbread house equivalent for a panda, the bamboo structure has a simple, modular design.

Its simplicity means it could also be a solution for temporary housing in times of natural disaster.

“The problem with shelters after a disaster is that you need to get the shelters transported to those regions,” says Precht. “If a region has local bamboo, just the technique of construction needs to be explained, and the shelters can be built up in a short amount of time.”

We hope modern architecture will branch out very soon.

*Pun intended.

[Images: Penda]