The owner of this restaurant dreamed of having an outdoor Japanese Noodle restaurant. But he realized that it is not usual, and for preventing a great loss, he commissioned DSA+s to design an outdoor and temporary restaurant that hopefully would be easily built/assembled and also easily disassembled. Those requests directly inspired DSA+s to take Bamboo as the main material for the restaurant. They planned to use Bamboo for the whole building structure and building skin. But what kind of Bamboo, and how would it look like? They started to think about what is the basic function of a building? It is basically for protection. Protection from the sun, wind, rain, etc. Does it sound like the function of an umbrella also?
Courtesy of dsa+s
The form of the restaurant basically was inspired by an umbrella, but a “giant” and an “unusual“ umbrella. The “giant” form would be functioned as a “shelter”. A group of “shelters” then become a “building”, which hopefully could protect the restaurant guests from sun, wind, and rain. They make the “giant” bamboo umbrella in different sizes (the width and the height) for arranging the “giant” umbrella in such a way that each “umbrella” could overlap with another to become a “giant” roof.
Courtesy of dsa+s
The “giant” roof functioned as a shelter and also as a gutter for rain. The rainwater is directly distributed to the ground via a pipe in the middle of the structure, which is wrapped by Bamboo. Bamboo is a strong material and with a minor modification, it can directly create a great and beautiful structure.
plan
The structure is tied up by a rope called “ijuk”. Each roof is supported independently by four bamboos, which is tied up with a cross beam, also by bamboo, to create one big column. The bamboo was standing on the concrete foundation that came out from the ground to prevent from the water. They created a wide and also high roof for allowing the wind to flow freely through the restaurant. The roof cover also made from bamboo, which is assembled with a coupling system. The system is used for preventing water dripping, and for protecting cracking which usually happens when bamboo is being exposed directly to the sun.
Courtesy of dsa+s
Project Info:
Architects: DSA+s
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Area: 648 m2
Project Year: 2010
Design Team: Susan Soetanto, Robby Soetanto
Project Name: Restaurant at Greenville
All images courtesy of DSA+s.
Isabelle Laurent is a Built Projects Editor at Arch2O, recognized for her editorial insight and passion for contemporary architecture. She holds a Master’s in Architectural Theory from École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville. Before joining Arch2O in 2016, she worked in a Paris-based architectural office and taught as a faculty adjunct at the École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris. Isabelle focuses on curating projects around sustainability, adaptive reuse, and urban resilience. With a background in design and communication, she brings clarity to complex ideas and plays a key role in shaping Arch2O’s editorial