By Marsha Lederman
VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail
March 25, 2015
In architecture and design, tremendous solutions for the future can be found in history and the project’s specific place – in other words, what’s already there. That’s one of the compelling themes that emerged from this year’s TED Technology, Entertainment and Design) Conference in Vancouver last week. Marsha Lederman outlines three stand-out projects:
Ibuku: building with bamboo
Elora Hardy’s groundbreaking designs are as outside the box as they come: She tries to reimagine homes, free from the shackles of tradition. For instance, why does a door have to be rectangular? Why can’t it be round?
It helps that Hardy is building them out of bamboo. For the past five years, her startup Ibuku has built more than 50 unique bamboo structures, most of them in Bali, where she lives (in a little bamboo pod that’s “literally a big basket,” she told me; her business cards are also made of bamboo). Many are private, luxurious homes in a community known as Green Village.
They are aesthetic knockouts, such as a spectacular six-level “jungle fantasy escape” with a dramatic tunnel-bridge entry, a fourth-floor living room that overlooks the valley, big curving roofs to catch the breeze. Another client wanted a TV in the living room, but boxing off part of the open space with walls didn’t feel right, so Ibuku created a giant woven TV pod. The bamboo houses – mostly open-air but with some rooms enclosed to keep out bugs and keep in air conditioning – are filled with bespoke furniture, and they’re breathtaking. Read more…