Natural Materials: Bamboo

GSAPP Conversations

Elora Hardy in Conversation with Lola Ben-Alon. This week as part of the Natural Materials mini-series, Lola Ben-Alon speaks with architect, artist, and designer, Elora Hardy (IBUKU), about designing and building with bamboo in Indonesia. Hardy’s work, from her time as a designer at DKNY to her time as an architectural designer in Bali today, has garnered international attention. Her complex designs utilize natural materials, namely bamboo. The structures seem to defy nature, while at the same time following the natural properties of the materials used. The Natural Materials mini-series consists of conversations with designers, builders, and product developers of clay, bamboo, fibers, and bacterial concrete. Natural materials are defined as minimally processed, readily available, nontoxic, healthy, and engaging materials. They are critically needed to reduce carbon emissions and extractive harmful impact associated with conventional building materials. (This conversation was recorded remotely in November 2020.)