Great Bamboo Wall

Kengo Kuma – The Great Bamboo Wall – Nishinomiya Japan, 2000-2001

Our first goal was to learn from the formality of the Great Wall. We were constantly drawn to the fact that the Great Wall was never an isolated object. The formal quality of it that ran almost endlessly along the undulating line without ever being isolated from the surrounding environment, was the nature that attracted us. This has attracted us, as a criticism of the conventional form of "architecture" that tends to try to be an isolated object between the environment. So our intention was to apply this nature of the Great Wall when living. For this reason the house is called "WALL" instead of "HOUSE".

As for the material, we used bamboo as much as possible, since it is considered significant among Chinese and Japanese cultures. Depending on the density of the bamboo and its diameter, it offers a variety of space partitions. Making the most of these features, we decided to place a bamboo "WALL" along the slope of the site just like the Great Wall. The Great Wall in the past separated two cultures, but this BAMBOO WALL not only partitioned, but also united life and culture in various ways, as in small part, the Great Wall.
Kengo Kuma